Locking Requirements for Safety

Safety is the prime consideration when locking any type of vessel through a lock.

The lock operator has full authority over the movement of boats in the lock and its approaches.

Operators must require all passengers to wear a Coast Guard approved life jacket and turn off engines.
 

IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ BEFORE LOCKING THROUGH:
Notice to Navigation: 2019-001 Canaveral and Okeechobee Lock Procedures

 

Locking Through SAFELY Pamphlet

Safety in Locking Through Pamphlet    Safety In Locking Through Pamphlet Back Side

Ortona Lock & Dam

Ortona LockThe U.S. Army Corps of Engineers welcomes you to Ortona Lock and Dam, located on the Okeechobee Waterway. Stretching out from both directions, the waterway extends to the Gulf of Mexico using the Caloosahatchee River and to the Atlantic Ocean using the St. Lucie Canal. Covering 152 miles, the waterway serves as both a commercial and recreational link with several overnight-docking facilities along the way. The Corps constructed and currently manages five locks along the Waterway. Ortona Lock and Dam were constructed in 1937 for navigation purposes.

Facts

Waterway distances: 15.5 miles east to Moore Haven Lock and 27.9 miles west to W.P. Franklin Lock

Cost of construction: Approximately $1.1 million

Lockage: Approximately 9,500 vessels lock through annually; of these about 96% are recreational vessels.

Commodities: Approximately 13,300 tons of manufactured goods, equipment, crude materials, food, and petroleum products locked annually.

Lock usage: Operating hours 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., 365 days a year, unless otherwise noted in the Coast Guard published, "Notice to Mariners." Lockage usually takes 15 to 20 minutes.

Technical Details

Lock chamber: 50 feet wide x 250 feet long x 12 feet deep

Lift of lock: Normally 7.5 to 8.5 feet. Channel width and depth: 90 feet wide x 8 feet deep

Spillway tainter gates: Two, 20 feet wide x 30 feet tall

Vertical lift gates: Two, 46.8 feet wide x 10.4 feet tall

Lock gate type: Two sixty degree, 30 foot x 6 ½ inch structural steel sector gates

Discharge capacity: 8,660 cfs (cubic feet per second)

Hours of Operation

7 a.m. to 5 p.m., with last lockage beginning at 4:30 p.m.

Contact Information

General information: 863-983-8101
SFOO@usace.army.mil
  • Navigation Locks monitor Marine VHF radio channel 13.
  • Bridges monitor channel 9.

To contact lock: 863-675-0616