During the dry season, the Caloosahatchee estuary can become too salty, putting oysters and other important species at risk.
"Oysters are basically just little water filters. They like to sit in clean water. That's all they do all day. So when we're talking about oyster health, it is specific to the organism, but it's also indicative of the larger estuary health as well," said Matt DePaolis, environmental policy director with the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation.
DePaolis said oysters thrive in brackish water, which is part freshwater and part saltwater. DePaolis said the water releases from Lake Okeechobee since mid-April are not enough. The SCCF has been documenting salinities of more than 30 practical salinity units in multiple spots in the estuary.
"If those conditions start to differ, that's when we need quick action to protect the estuary. ... Once those organisms are gone, they're gone for a really long time," said DePaolis.
The SCCF has asked the Army Corps to restore lake flows to the best possible level until the dry season ends. Oysters need the freshwater now, and if they are cut off from it, spawning will be harmed, whether we get rain or not.
In the meantime, the SCCF is looking ahead to when the C-43 reservoir in Hendry County will be done, as it will help avoid this problem in the future.
"That reservoir is built for this specific situation that we're in right now. That reservoir is going to retain water in the wet season when we're getting a lot of water from the watershed," said DePaolis.
The C-43 reservoir will come online this summer.