u.s. army corps of engineers

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is facing a threatened lawsuit over Lake Okeechobee water discharges believed to be contributing to toxic algae.

A special master is recommending the U.S. Supreme Court rule against Florida in a decades-long fight over water use. The move is a big blow to the Big Bend’s Apalachicola Bay, which depends on water from the system.

Planning for a reservoir South of Lake Okeechobee is scheduled to begin in 2021. The reservoir is crucial to restoring the Everglades, and the project could get started sooner if funding were available.

Water managers announced Thursday they will reduce discharges of polluted water from a rain-swollen Lake Okeechobee to delicate coastal estuaries.But the…