Florida is in the midst of a historic drought, and environmental groups are raising alarms over how water from Lake Okeechobee, released for drought relief, is actually being used.
Despite recent rains, new drought numbers released Thursday by the U.S. Drought Monitor show that most of Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast remain under an extreme drought.
WATCH BELOW: Florida is drying up, but sugar cane fields are staying green
Numbers released in March show that 100% of Florida is under a drought for the first time in the state's recorded history. In February, Lake Okeechobee dropped to its lowest level since 2011, reaching 11.19 feet.
"It's drying, drying up," said Mark Perry, executive director of the Florida Oceanographic Society. "We're getting really critical."
Perry said the lake's decline is especially troubling because of what the water is — and is not — doing.
"It's concerning for everybody because mainly that water supply from the lake goes to the Everglades and recharges the aquifers where we draw the water out," Perry said.
But right now, that's not happening.
Records from the Army Corps of Engineers show for the week of March 6, the South Florida Water Management District was sending an average of more than 1,500 gallons of water a day south from the lake — not directly to the Everglades or the Biscayne Aquifer, the region's main water supply — but into irrigation systems in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) hydrating hundreds of thousands of acres of sugar cane fields.
"So water supply is now being used directly for agricultural use south of the lake and really for nothing else," Perry said. "In Palm Beach County and south, they all need that water to flow south from the lake to recharge the Biscayne aquifer that supplies our water for over eight and a half million people."
On Feb. 5, the South Florida Water Management District issued an urgent water shortage warning for the Biscayne Aquifer, affecting Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. The notice said several wells fed by the Biscayne Aquifer dropped to the lowest 10% ever recorded.
"The aquifers below ground — if they start drying up — then there's no way to kind of recharge them," Perry said.
Yet the same agency warning "all residents, visitors, and businesses to conserve water and limit irrigation" is the same agency in charge of sending water to agricultural fields for irrigation.
Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, said the situation is difficult to ignore.
"There's real irony in the state or the Water Management District asking individuals to cut back on watering their lawns or to embrace other water restrictions at times like this, when about 400,000 acres of sugar cane south of the lake are getting near-perfect irrigation," Samples said.
Samples said the situation is also impacting the Everglades and hitting the west coast of Florida hard.
Data released March 5 showed that in February, more than 29 million gallons of water were sent to the EAA. Just a third of that amount, 9.5 million gallons, went to the Caloosahatchee River, a main water supply that Samples said is growing saltier and more strained.
Lee County also warned residents to conserve water or face potential fines.
"If things get too salty in the Caloosahatchee River, that can lead to really dire impacts to ecological life," Samples said.
In the Everglades, Samples said dry, cracked marsh is replacing navigable waterways, raising the risk of wildfires and potentially endangering more than 2,000 species of plants and animals.
"The extremes are where the Everglades can really be damaged, and unfortunately, we're having some extremely dry conditions right now," Samples said.
WPTV investigative reporter Kate Hussey visited the area to see conditions firsthand and found nature preserves east of Lake Okeechobee dead and dry. Our drones captured a confirmed wildfire near the same parched area.
WATCH: Drone video over Lake Okeechobee shot on March 6, 2026
Yet just a 40-minute drive away, the EAA told a different story: field after field of bright green crops. Both scenes were captured on the same day.
"We get into these fire dangers, and that even worsens the situation, because it dries everything out even further," Perry said. "You've got to cut back that agricultural demand for irrigation water."
In a statement, the South Florida Water Management District said it is "closely monitoring all relevant indicators" — including water supply needs, the lake's decline, rainfall forecasts, salinity in the Caloosahatchee and water levels in critical areas. The district added those factors "guide water management decisions" and said it is continuing to send water to the lower east coast and Miami-Dade wellfields.
Tommy Strowd, executive director of the Lake Worth Drainage District, confirmed water is still being pumped from Lake Okeechobee into his district to help recharge water supplies.
"So we can bring water in, maintain our canal levels, which affect the water levels in the groundwater aquifer," Strowd said.
"There's a lot— I mean, 1,500 gallons a day going into the Everglades Agricultural Area," Hussey said to Strowd.
"Right, correct," Strowd replied.
"Is that a problem from your perspective?" Hussey asked.
"It could be, depending on the severity of the drought. Right now, we're not in a water shortage," Strowd said.
But Strowd warned that if the drought worsens and lake levels drop too low, the district could be forced to pull water from protected wildlife refuges. Current levels are just 2 feet away from that threshold.
"At that point, we all have to work together to figure out how we deal with those conflicting water issues," Strowd said.
So why, then, is South Florida Water Management still sending water to sugar cane fields?
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