The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District will continue releases of water from Lake Okeechobee at the same rates the agency announced last week.
The target flow for the Caloosahatchee Estuary remains at 4,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) as measured at Moore Haven Lock & Dam (S-77) located on the southwest side of the lake. The target flow for the St. Lucie Estuary remains at 1,800 cfs as measured at St. Lucie Lock & Dam (S-80) near Stuart. Additional runoff from rain in the St. Lucie basin could occasionally result in flows that exceed targets.
“The increase in outflows over the past week has helped slow the rise,” said Candida Bronson, Acting Operations Division Chief for the Jacksonville District. “However, the lake is still rising. With additional rain in the forecast and tropical activity in the Caribbean, we believe the best course is to maintain flows at the same rate.”
Today, the lake stage is 15.71 feet, up 0.14 feet over the past week and 0.98 feet over the past month. The lake 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 4,000 cfs to the Caloosahatchee and up to 1,800 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. 16-079