A travel website article labeling Lake Okeechobee as the “dirtiest” lake in the country is misleading, according to the South Florida Water Management District.

“The South Florida Water Management District finds the report misleading. Specifically, the claims about ‘high’ levels of lead in Lake Okeechobee are incorrect. First, the internet article does not clarify that lead is a hardness-based criterion (at least for Florida, but other states may have unique criteria), so it overstates that any amount of lead is a sign of degradation. All reported lead values for Lake Okeechobee for the data retrieved meet approved EPA water quality standards and the authors of the article did not consider water quality standards in their summarization,” explained Jason Shultz, SFWMD Public Information Coordinator.

“Bottom line … There have been zero exceedances for lead. Similarly, the internet article seems to have incorrectly summarized pH data. The approach employed in the article is not scientifically based and is a mischaracterization of water quality data.  

“Basically, their metric for the healthiest/most polluted lakes is not based on accepted scientific methods or regulatory standards and misleads the public,” he added. “It is important to mention that one of the core missions of the South Florida Water Management District is to restore and protect South Florida’s ecosystem and water resources, including Lake Okeechobee.

“The South Florida Water Management District’s mission includes protecting and restoring South Florida’s ecosystem and water resources, including Lake Okeechobee. The District, and its partners in Everglades restoration, have made tremendous progress on environmental infrastructure projects that are helping to restore the quality and ecology of Lake Okeechobee and the entire Greater Everglades Ecosystem.”