Nonprofit celebrates big step toward cleaner Orlando lakes

Approximately a hundred people gathered at Leu Gardens Friday to celebrate a big win in one local nonprofit’s push for cleaner Orlando area lakes.

Friends of Loch Haven Chain of Lakes, Inc. recently secured $1.3 million in state funding for the St. Johns River Water Management District to develop a master plan to improve flood control and water quality for five interconnected lakes: Lakes Formosa, Rowena, Winyah, Estelle and Sue.

That $1.3 million is the full amount requested by the nonprofit during Florida’s most recent legislative session, according to the group’s founder and president, Shan Atkins.

Atkins said the funding allocation couldn’t have come to fruition without the help of two state lawmakers: Republican Senator Jason Brodeur and Representative Anna Eskamani, a Democrat.

“We’re excited about the fact that two important figures from different ends of the political spectrum here in Florida were able to hold hands to get this done,” Atkins said. “It’s a model for how this should work, everywhere.”