While it goes against some county commissioners' ideas on how to limit large Lake Okeechobee water releases, a lawyer hired for his expertise says flooding farm fields south of the lake is not the answer.

Attorney John Fumero on Friday brought the Lee County Tourism Development Council up to speed on projects and funding being explored by Lee County to limit releases.

Fumero is the former general legal counsel for the South Florida Water Management District, which manages the lake.

The Lee County Visitor and Convention Bureau hired him for his knowledge on the issue 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.

Even if it did, it would be too expensive, he said.

D.T. Minich, who heads the convention bureau, made it clear that "we are not proposing any of those types of things ˜like flooding farm fields˜ we are looking for a solution."

Commissioner Ray Judah, among others, believes using sugarcane fields near the lake for water storage is the fastest way to relieve excessive releases into the Caloosahatchee estuary.

Water management officials have looked into Judah's theory and say it's not feasible. Most of their points were made again Friday by Fumero and Judy Sanchez, a U.S. Sugar Corp. spokeswoman.

"I thought it went well. There weren't any Ray Judah-type accusations," Sanchez said after the meeting. "In the long run, we have the same goals: clean water and a healthy environment."

Large releases of nutrient-laden water after the unusually rainy season of 2005 have been blamed for killing seagrasses and triggering huge algal blooms in the river and its estuary.

Commissioners and the Sanibel City Council have explored suing over damage to local tourism and marine life.

Sanchez argued Judah's idea of buying farmland to store water is already being done. The water district plans to build three water-storage reservoirs.

Water management officials have said they are willing to take on $1.8 billion in debt to fix the Caloosahatchee estuary and to accelerate 14 Everglades restoration projects that would lessen the harmful effects of freshwater releases to the Caloosahatchee.

It's not meant to solve the problem. That's what 67 projects of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan are for.

The accelerated projects, for example, will help build reservoirs, begin lake dredging and equip the lake with pumps that will allow it to be managed at a lower level to cut back on high-level discharges.

Sanchez described to the council the concerns of farmers and residents near the lake. Farming sugar, citrus, vegetables, sod, and ornamentals are the livelihood of those counties.

It would cost $4 billion to $8 billion to buy all 400,000 acres of Everglades Agricultural Area farmland for storage, Sanchez said.

After paying growers for lost income and building water-control facilities needed to flood the property, it would total more than the entire Everglades Restoration Plan ˜ now at $10 billion.

It also would mean 19,800 lost jobs, which doesn't include social or economic impacts to communities around the lake, Sanchez said.

Judah also has suggested leasing land for storage until many of the Everglades restoration projects are complete.

Sanchez said temporary use isn't an option because of the long-term impact to growers while they wait to get their land back.

Four years of sugar crops are expected out of one planting. So while a grower's crop is out of production, he likely will lose his buyer and employees will leave for other jobs, making it unlikely he would go back into business afterward, Sanchez said.

"The farmers are extremely concerned about the quality and quantity of water in Lake Okeechobee. It's their irrigational source and the residents' source of drinking water. It's the source of the local fishing industry and tourism around the lake," Sanchez said. "But farmers seem to be everybody's favorite whipping boy in this."

Sanchez didn't change Judah's mind on leasing fields for temporary storage.

He agreed that it would not do away with coastal discharges, but said using even 200,000 acres temporarily "would be better than nothing at least.”