Less Water, Good Bye Muck

Muck had been stirred up in Lake Okeechobee due to the hurricanes that hit in 2004 and 2005. This muck keeps sunlight from the plants and lowered the clarity of the lake. Water management officials are going to take about three months to dredge out 500,000 cubic yards of muck from the 800 acres of lake bed. By de-mucking the lake officials expect to promote the re-growth of submerged aquatic vegetation and shoreline marshes. The removal is also expected to improve the fish habitat by exposing sandy areas that fish need to lay their eggs.