As Florida grapples with its most widespread drought on record, our WPTV investigation reveals hundreds of millions of gallons of water are being released from Lake Okeechobee — not to replenish drinking water supplies or restore the Everglades, but to irrigate sugar cane fields. And a trail of campaign donations is raising questions about why.
New data shows sugar cane fields in the Everglades Agricultural Area are receiving as much as 379 million gallons of water a day, according to the latest maps from the Army Corps of Engineers.
WATCH BELOW: Big Sugar's $2.5 million in political donations — and the Lake Okeechobee water that follows
The water releases are happening as aquifers sit in the lowest 10% ever recorded, Lake Okeechobee dropped in February to a 15-year low, and wildfires have burned across the state.
Our investigation found the water leaving the lake is being directed to sugarcane fields in the Everglades Agricultural Area rather than being used to recharge South Florida's drinking water supply or restore natural ecosystems.
Drone footage captured the stark contrast: dry, cracked wildlife preserves near the lake, while farm fields just miles away remain bright green.
Environmental advocates say the pattern is not a coincidence.
"It's clearly because they've been directed and lobbied by the agricultural industry to have that water supply no matter what the drought conditions," Mark Perry, the executive director of the Florida Oceanographic Society, said.
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Eve Samples, the executive director of Friends of the Everglades, pointed to a deeper structural issue.
"This is the status quo in Florida," Samples said.
Records show at least two of the South Florida Water Management District's registered lobbyists represent Big Sugar, with three more tied to agricultural groups that frequently back the industry.
Campaign finance filings show Big Sugar spent more than $2.5 million last year supporting Florida politicians running in 2026. Florida Crystals contributed nearly $1.29 million. U.S. Sugar contributed about $1.25 million.
Agriculture-aligned political action committees added another $172,000. While none of that money went directly to the water district's board members, at least $1.5 million went to current state leaders or their PACs.
University of Central Florida political science professor Aubrey Jewett said the scale of that spending is significant.
"This is a huge amount, and Big Sugar has been giving lots of money for a long time," Jewett said.
Jewett noted that the First Amendment technically protects campaign donations as free speech and are common in Florida politics. But he said the industry's influence is difficult to ignore.
"I will just say that they have a lot of influence. There's plenty of evidence that suggests this," Jewett said.
"Whether that's in Washington, D.C., Tallahassee, or whether that's with the board members who work on the South Florida Water Management District, you can see victory after victory for Big Sugar — they usually get what they want," Jewett said.
Jewett also cautioned that donations do not automatically translate into votes.
"There's actually, like, real data, and you can see, yeah, if you are a big donor, you actually get more access. But you can't really conclusively say the money's buying the votes, because you can't prove the causation," Jewett said.
The South Florida Water Management District did not address the political donations when contacted for this story.
However, in a statement, the agency said it is "holding as much water in the system as possible" to protect supplies for people and the environment. The district added it is "closely monitoring" conditions — including levels at Lake Okeechobee, rainfall forecasts, and salinity in the Caloosahatchee River — to guide water management decisions.
All five lobbyists identified in this investigation, along with U.S. Sugar and Florida Crystals, were contacted for comment. However, none agreed to an interview or provided a statement. Florida Crystals did point to data from Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson showing Florida agriculture has already taken a $3 billion hit from January's freeze, including more than $1 billion in sugarcane losses. A lobbyist for the industry said the industry is further suffering in the drought as well.
Part of this controversy traces back to 2017, when the Florida Legislature approved the Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee. The reservoir was designed to store water, clean it, and send it south to the Everglades to help in situations like the current drought. That project is still under construction.
Environmental groups are pushing the state to acquire more land to store, clean and send water south to better help in situations like this.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.