May 2024
FACT SHEET
Herbert Hoover Dike, FL
Construction (C)
Congressional Districts: 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28
1. DESCRIPTION
AUTHORIZATION: The Herbert Hoover Dike (HHD) is a component of the Central and Southern Florida (C&SF) Project for Flood Control and other Purposes. The C&SF project was authorized in the Flood Control Act of 1948, 1954, 1960, 1965, and 1968; in 1970 under Section 201 of the Flood Control Act of 1965; the Water Resources Development Acts (WRDA) of 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1996 and 2007; and the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1930.
BACKGROUND: The HHD system consists of approximately 143 miles of levee surrounding Lake Okeechobee, with 32 culverts, hurricane gates and other water control structures. The first embankments around Lake Okeechobee were constructed by local interests from sand and muck circa 1915. Hurricane tides overtopped the original embankments in 1926 and 1928, causing over 3,000 deaths. The Rivers and Harbors Act of 1930 authorized the construction of 67.8 miles of levee along the south shore of Lake Okeechobee and 15.7 miles of levee along the north shore. The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) constructed the levees between 1932 and 1938 with crest heights ranging from +32 to +35 feet, National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD).
A major hurricane in 1947 prompted the need for additional flood protection work. As a result, Congress passed the Flood Control Act of 1948, authorizing the first phase of the C&SF project, a comprehensive plan to provide flood protection and other water control benefits in central and south Florida. By the late 1960s, the new dike system was completed, raising the elevation of the levees to a maximum +41 feet, NGVD. This provides protection to the Standard Project Flood (SPF) level, an event occurring approximately once in 935 years.
However, investigations into the dike system's potential seepage and stability problems conducted in the 1980s and 1990s identified two major areas of concern: the seepage and embankment stability at the culvert locations, and the problematic foundation conditions of the dike. During high-water events, piping is experienced through the embankment. In 1999, the Corps developed a plan to rehabilitate the HHD. The plan, approved in 2000, divided the 143-mile embankment into eight reaches with the initial focus on Reach 1. In August 2016, the Corps Dam Safety Officer approved the Dam Safety Modification Report (DSMR), which includes all remaining fixes to bring HHD within tolerable risk guidelines.
2. FUNDING
a. Regular Civil Works Funds:
| Estimated Total Cost |
$1,799,500,000 |
| Estimated Federal Cost |
$1,799,400,000 |
| Allocation thru FY23 |
$1,835,299,000 |
| Allocation for FY24 |
$0 |
| President's Budget FY25 |
$0 |
b. P.L. 115-123: Bi-Partisan Budget Act of 2018, Supplemental:
| Current Working Estimate |
$514,200,000 |
| Allocation thru FY23 |
$327,558,000 |
| Allocation for FY24 |
$0 |
3. SPONSOR
South Florida Water Management District
3301 Gun Club Road
West Palm Beach, Florida 33416-4680
4. STATUS
All risk reduction measures have been completed on Herbert Hoover Dike around Lake Okeechobee. Multiple risk reduction construction contracts are working through final payments and contract closeout activities. The Long-term Disaster Relief Investment Program (LDRIP) funds were used on the 5 cutoff wall contracts in construction, the State Road 78 Bridge & S-71 Embankment Armoring contract, and the S-72 Embankment Armoring contract.
$100 million in Section 1024 Contributed Funds from the State of Florida were used on the Reach 1 Cutoff Wall Extension contract ($50 million) and the Cutoff Wall MATOC Task Order #1 contract ($50 million) and have been fully expended on each contract.
Minor non-risk reduction construction contracts continue as the Herbert Hoover Dike Project ramps down for overall completion and closeout.
