Corps maintains current flows from Lake Okeechobee

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District
Published Jan. 24, 2020

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District will maintain the flow of water from Lake Okeechobee to the Caloosahatchee Estuary on the current schedule.

The Corps will continue to release water from the lake to the Caloosahatchee in a pulse pattern that averages 650 cubic feet per second (cfs) over a seven-day period measured at the W.P. Franklin Lock and Dam (S-79). No releases are planned through the St. Lucie Lock and Dam (S-80).

Flows at 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).

Today’s stage at Lake Okeechobee is 12.82 feet, down 0.2 feet in the last week and 0.22 feet during the past 30 days. The Corps also will continue to release water when necessary to maintain navigation levels in the Caloosahatchee C-43 and St. Lucie C-44 canals and to provide water supply.

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, but some blue green algae has been seen on the Caloosahatchee with only trace levels of toxins.


Contact
Jim Yocum
904-232-3914
James.A.Yocum@usace.army.mil

Release no. 20-004