The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District plans a further reduction in flows over the next week from Lake Okeechobee.
The adjustment in discharges will take place tomorrow (March 27). The new target flow for the St. Lucie Estuary will be a seven-day average of 500 cfs as measured at St. Lucie Lock & Dam (S-80) near Stuart. The target flow for the Caloosahatchee Estuary is unchanged at a seven-day average of 2,500 cubic feet per second (cfs) as measured W.P. Franklin Lock (S-79) near Fort Myers. Flows at one or both locations could occasionally be exceeded by runoff from rain that accumulates in the Caloosahatchee or St. Lucie basins—those flows will be allowed to pass through structures as necessary.
The lake has dropped more than ¼ foot over the past week. Today, the lake stage is 14.18 feet. It is currently in the Operational Low Sub-Band as defined by the 2008 Lake Okeechobee Regulation Schedule (LORS). Under current conditions, LORS authorizes the Corps to discharge up to 3,000 cfs to the Caloosahatchee and up to 1,170 cfs to the St. Lucie.
For more information on water level and flows data for Lake Okeechobee, visit the Corps’ water management website at http://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Missions/CivilWorks/WaterManagement.aspx.
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Release no. 15-040