Lake Okeechobee's Low Water Levels Cause Concern

Lake Okeechobee's water levels have dropped to an alarmingly low level as Florida enters its dry season, prompting concerns that other waterways could be affected.

The lake's water is almost as low as it was eight years ago during Florida's worst drought in nearly a century, the Miami Herald reported.

"I’m a bit concerned about the lake level – we are right about where we were in 2011," U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Col. Andrew Kelly said in a recent phone call with reporters, according to the Herald.

South Florida's rainy season was drier than usual this year, and the lake serves as an indicator of drought throughout the region. It's also a key source of drinking and irrigation water for South Florida.

Kelly said there were worries over whether the Corps would be able to continue water releases into the Caloosahatchee Estuary, which relies on freshwater input from the lake to maintain its salt-to-freshwater ratio during the dry season, when there is less rain.