U.S. Sugar says cane farmers not to blame for dirty water flowing from Lake O

U.S. Sugar is hitting back over claims that sugarcane farmers are to blame for the harmful Lake Okeechobee discharges.

The Army Corps of Engineers has been releasing water from Lake Okeechobee into the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers for about a month. The releases came after a wetter-than-normal January. South Florida officials have said the discharges are affecting the tourist season. The freshwater from Lake Okeechobee also causes problems with delicate estuaries along the rivers that require brackish water to survive.

Environmentalists say the discharge water is polluted with high levels of sulfur and nitrogen from farms around the lake.

On Monday, officials with U.S. Sugar shot down claims that it’s to blame for the dirty water.

“Sugarcane farmers are reducing pollution, not increasing it, and to say otherwise is simply irresponsible and a slap in the face to the communities that rely on farming for jobs and security,” said Judy Sanchez, the senior director of corporate communications and public affairs for U.S. Sugar.

Sanchez disputed claims that the company is pumping water from nearby farm fields into Lake Okeechobee. She said the company shares frustration over the discharges, but that farmers aren’t responsible for polluting Florida’s estuaries.

Sanchez also said claims made by the Sierra Club that back pumping water south of the lake was contributing to harmful discharges were untrue. Sanchez said back pumping is controlled by the South Florida Water Management District and is only done when canals reach dangerous levels. The South Florida Water Management District back pumped at the end of January.

“Only a small fraction of water is entering the lake from the south where sugarcane farmers operate and, thanks to the efforts of these farmers, that water is cleaner when it leaves their farms than when it enters,’’ said Bob Brown, technical adviser for Everglades Agricultural Area land owners and the former assistant executive director of the South Florida Water Management. “Trying to make U.S. Sugar the bad guy ignores the facts from scientists and is deceptive to those seeking real solutions.’’

The Army Corps continues to pump water out of the lake, despite several dry weeks in a row.