The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, will continue this week with releases to the Caloosahatchee Estuary that began Oct. 5. There are no planned releases to the St. Lucie Estuary.
The Corps will continue targeted pulse releases to the Caloosahatchee estuary at a 7-day average rate of 650 cubic feet per second (cfs) from the W.P. Franklin Lock and Dam (S-79). No scheduled releases through the St. Lucie Lock and Dam (S-80) are planned at this time. Flows at either the W.P. Franklin or St. Lucie structures could occasionally be exceeded by runoff from rain that accumulates in the Caloosahatchee or St. Lucie basins, and those flows will be allowed to pass through the spillways as necessary. If local basin runoff meets or exceeds the 650 cfs targeted release at W.P. Franklin Lock and Dam, no water will be released from Lake Okeechobee at Moore Haven Lock and Dam (S-77).
The Corps also will continue to release water when necessary to maintain navigation levels in the canals and to provide water supply.
Today’s stage at Lake Okeechobee is 13.48 feet, down 0.06 feet in the last week and 0.25 feet during the past 30 days.
Our partners at the Department of Environmental Protection report that according to the most recent viable satellite imagery, harmful algal bloom potential is low on Lake Okeechobee and the estuaries remain free of blooms. However, bloom potential is subject to change rapidly due to environmental conditions.
Release no. 19-084