Beneficial flow continues from the lake to the Caloosahatchee River

JACKSONVILLE – As the dry season begins in earnest, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has no plans to change the current lake release schedule.

In a Dec. 3 media call, Col. James Booth, commander of the USACE Jacksonville District, said no water from the lake will be sent east to the St. Lucie Canal. No lake water has been released to the St. Lucie River since April.

West of the lake, the target flow at the Franklin Lock remains at 2,000 cubic feet per second. This is a combination of water released from the lake at Moore Haven and local basin runoff. “If the local basin runoff increases, we back off from the lake,” the colonel explained.

The Caloosahatchee River needs some freshwater flow in the dry season to prevent saltwater intrusion. The 2,000 cfs flow is within the beneficial range for the river.