Army Corps reduces water releases toward SWFL and sends water south

LEE COUNTY, Fla. – The Army Corps of Engineers will reduce the planned increase in Lake Okeechobee releases to the Caloosahatchee Estuary.

They are reducing flows by about 3,800 gallons per second, according to the Army Corps of Engineers. No releases are currently planned from the St. Lucie Lock and Dam.

The increased releases, which will begin on Feb. 6, were reduced for reasons including the recently available potential to send more water to the south as the Water Conservation Area levels have come down and input from stakeholders and partners. The Army Corps of Engineers said rainfall could result in higher releases than the target due to local basin runoff.

The releases are part of a September 2020 approved planned deviation from the 2008 Lake Okeechobee Regulation Schedule. The Army Corps of Engineers confirmed this was to reduce the risk of exacerbating potential health concerns associated with algae blooms in Lake Okeechobee, St. Lucie, and Caloosahatchee estuaries during the summer.

As of Feb. 4, the lake stage is at 15.42 feet, which is still 2.5 feet higher than it was one year ago, and 2.7 feet higher than it was two years ago, according to the Army Corps of Engineers.