Elsa flow to Caloosahatchee is local basin runoff

As Tropical Storm Elsa dumped rainfall on south Florida Monday and Tuesday, flow at the Franklin Lock on the Caloosahatchee River was all from local basin runoff.

According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers website, no lake water was released at the Julian Keen Jr. Lock at Moore Haven on Monday, while an average of 1,712 cubic feet per second (cfs) flowed through the Franklin Lock to the Caloosahatchee estuaries.

The current schedule calls for up to 1,000 cfs to be released through the Franklin Lock, and lake water can be used to reach that target. However, if local basin runoff meets or exceeds the 1,000 cfs level, no lake water is released to the Caloosahatchee River.

For the seven day period ending July 5, the average flow from the lake at Moore Haven was just was 199 cfs.