Although it goes against some county commissioners’ ideas for quickly limiting large Lake Okeechobee water releases, the county’s own outside attorney today said flooding farm fields south of the lake is not the answer.

John Fumero is the former general legal counsel for the South Florida Water Management District, which manages the lake. He was recently hired for his expertise on the issue by the Lee County Visitor and Convention Bureau to represent the county in its crusade for water quality in the Caloosahatchee River.

“The reality is that flooding farm fields would not have the meaningful impact that’s needed,” Fumero said.

Commissioner Ray Judah, among others, has suggested that using sugar cane fields near the lake for water storage is the fastest way to relieve excessive freshwater releases into the Caloosahatchee estuary.

Fumero was a guest today at the Lee County Tourism Development Council meeting, where U.S. Sugar Corp. spokeswoman Judy Sanchez also presented the side of the farmers and residents who live near the lake.

She told of how the lake and the farming around it are the livelihood of many of the area's residents. She also said acquiring all the farm land needed for such an undertaking would be too expensive. And using the land temporarily isn’t an option because of the long-term impact on the land and the impact to the growers while they’re waiting to get back the use of the land.

“The farmers are extremely concerned about the quality and quantity of water in Lake Okeechobee, it’s their irrigational source and the resident’s source of drinking water, and the source of the local fishing industry and tourism around the lake,” Sanchez said. “Farmers seem to be everybody’s favorite whipping boy in this, but it’s not that simple.”