Nearly 500 people have signed petitions demanding cleanup of Lake Okahumpka.
A group called the Lake Okahumpka Conservation Committee submitted the petitions to Sumter County, Wildwood and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The lake south of State Road 44 “has been overtaken by a green wall of invasive vegetation,” according to the petitions. “These obstructions have rendered the lake unnavigable for recreational watercraft and are systematically destroying the water quality and depth through the rapid accumulation of organic muck.”
Petitions demand immediate mechanical weed harvesting, muck removal, depth restoration and long-term invasive management.
The signers assert that Lake Okahumpka should be treated with the same environmental priority as the Harris Chain of Lakes.
“Wildwood residents deserve the same access to clean, navigable water as our neighbors in Lake County,” according to the petitions.
Last month, the Lake Okahumpka Conservation Committee met at the Continental Country Club with Richard Poole, a biologist with the Florida Wildlife Commission.