South Florida’s Lake Okeechobee is one of the state’s most celebrated sites, but this month is may also be a pending environmental disaster. One of the largest lakes in the United States, it is also one of the most shallow, just nine feet deep on average during normal conditions. Unfortunately heavy downpours over the last few months have left water levels in the lake closer to 15.5 feet. Now some people fear the swollen lake may be ready to burst. If that happens, decades of pollution and waste that have gathered in Okeechobee could soon flood the surrounding region, the New York Times reports.

The swollen lake has already sent polluted waters into nearby estuaries. The pollution - runoff from farms, home septic systems and golf courses - is feeding the growth of toxic algae, which can kill oysters and affect manatees, sea grass and other freshwater organisms.

‘These coastal estuaries cannot take this,’ Mark D. Perry, executive director of the Florida Oceanographic Society, told the Times. ‘These estuaries are so important to us, our environment and our economies.’

Meanwhile, the lake pollution - visibly evident in the form of brown, murky water or green algae - is reportedly hurting both tourism and […]