Corps further reduces flows from Lake Okeechobee

Published Aug. 23, 2013
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District has announced another decrease in discharges from Lake Okeechobee that will take effect this weekend.

The new target flow from the lake to the Caloosahatchee Estuary is 4,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) as measured at Moore Haven Lock (S-77). The new target flow for the St. Lucie Estuary is 1,800 cfs, as measured at the St. Lucie Lock and Dam (S-80) near Stuart. The new target flows will be effective at 7 a.m. Saturday, and are a result of the lake’s expected fall into the Low Sub-Band as defined under the 2008 Lake Okeechobee Regulation Schedule (LORS), the lake’s water control plan. The current lake level is 15.61 feet. The current top of the Low Sub-Band is 15.58 feet.

Under LORS, the Corps strives to keep the lake level between 12.5 and 15.5 feet. The Corps will closely monitor conditions and adjust flows as necessary to balance the competing needs and purposes of Lake Okeechobee. Public safety remains the Corps’ top priority.

For more information on water level and flows data for Lake Okeechobee, visit the Corps’ water management page at the Jacksonville District website:

                        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. 13-061