John G:
I'm with you on this after what we saw the week of June 11-18.
We were setting up each day on or near the Eastern Lake "isthmus" between the lake and the Gulf. The isthmus was slightly higher than the lake level there, and the lake was very shallow to the north back past the Eastern Lake Rd public access (knee deep to an adult through much of it).
Some days the high tide would slightly, gently and NATURALLY connect the Gulf water to the lake water, usually on "red flag" days, and push the clear/emerald Gulf water into the shallow part of the lake. Most days it remained closed and the isthmus was a true isthmus, a narrow strip of land surrounded by two larger bodies of water.
On Sunday, June 18, we got out there in the afternoon, and the south end of Eastern Lake was waist deep and at times higher once you sunk your feet into the soft, unstable sand on the floor - against the strong current towards the Gulf! We noticed the man made opening to the Gulf where the lake water was shooting out into the Gulf's red flag waves like a water park flume into a wave pool. The isthmus was gone and gradually caving in from the east and west of the outflow.
I asked some people nearby when it opened, and they said some kids did it around 10-11 that morning. They said a Sheriff's beach patrol unit had come by and looked at it and asked who did it - so since it's a state statute, I'd think that the Sheriff's Dept, as a county subagency of state government, would have jurisdiction over that issue. The signs that Lake View Too mentioned are posted at the end of the Eastern Lake Rd public access boardwalk. Who else would people call to report it, some office in Tallahasses so they can send a helicopter over, or send a highway patrol officer out on the beach in his Dodge Charger?
It definitely made an impact on the natural flow of the lake and Gulf. Also made the lake floor unstable and the current dangerous for smaller kids, and made the lake and area impassable for Sheriff, lifeguard and beach services vehicles.