This week, the district also drew attention to an old solution long on the books but now coming up for planning under the schedule: deep wells that dump water in the Floridan aquifer north of Lake Okeechobee. The wells, called ASRs for Aquifer Storage and Recover, were originally conceived as a vast network that would provide the bulk of storage for restoration, with more than 300 ringing the lake and in clusters near the Caloosahatchee basin and along the eastern edge of water conservation areas. After an 11-year study, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determined that drilling so many would likely create problems with pressure inside the wells and cut the recommended number to 131.
Scientists also say the chemistry can change in stored water, posing a risk to plants and animals. In 2015, the NAS recommended more research on those effects before using the technology.
Environmentalists, and residents of the Treasure Coast who repeatedly endure foul water when the lake is flushed, say the reservoir should be started now. Otherwise, all the other projects won’t have the water needed to revive the historic system that stretches all the way south into Florida Bay — where more than 25-square miles of seagrass died after a 2015 drought.
