The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District will increase flows from Lake Okeechobee to stem the recent rise in water levels and to reduce the probability of high-volume releases during the wet season.
The Corps will use Additional Operational Flexibility as defined by the 2008 Lake Okeechobee Regulation Schedule to increase flows for the next three weeks. Starting Saturday, February 23, and continuing for the next 21 days, the Corps will release water to the Caloosahatchee estuary at an average rate of 1,800 cubic feet per second from the W.P. Franklin Lock and Dam, and to the St. Lucie estuary from the St. Lucie Lock and Dam (S-80) at an average rate of 500 cubic feet per second. Additional runoff from rain in the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie basins could occasionally result in flows that exceed one or both targets.