Corps to reduce flows from Lake O to Caloosahatchee

Published Nov. 5, 2015

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District will make a slight reduction in flows for its next pulse release to the Caloosahatchee Estuary scheduled to begin tomorrow.

The Corps announced today the new target for the Caloosahatchee Estuary will average 650 cubic feet per second (cfs) over the next 14 days as measured at W.P. Franklin Lock (S-79) near Fort Myers.  Water will be discharged in two seven-day pulse releases over the next two weeks.  No water from the lake is expected to be released through St. Lucie Lock (S-80) near Stuart.  However, flows at either the Franklin or St. Lucie structures could occasionally be exceeded by runoff from rain that accumulates in the Caloosahatchee or St. Lucie basins—those flows will be allowed to pass through the spillway as necessary.

“The lake has been falling steadily over the past few weeks,” said Candida Bronson, Deputy Operations Division Chief for the Jacksonville District.  “However, all indications call for above average precipitation in the coming months fueled by El Nino conditions.  We want to continue to put the lake in a position where it will be able to handle heavy rain once is develops.”

Today, the lake stage is 14.51 feet.  It is approaching the Base Flow Sub-Band as defined by the 2008 Lake Okeechobee Regulation Schedule (LORS).  In the Base Flow Sub-Band, LORS authorizes the Corps to discharge up to 650 cfs combined to the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie systems. 

For more information on water level and flows data for Lake Okeechobee, visit the Corps’ water management website at http://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Missions/CivilWorks/WaterManagement.aspx.

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Contact
John Campbell
904-232-1004
john.h.campbell@usace.army.mil

Release no. 15-096