Army Corps: Lake O too high, releases to Caloosahatchee to grow in wake of hurricanes

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is increasing the volume of Lake Okeechobee releases to the Caloosahatchee River and its estuary, the agency announced Friday.

Lake Okeechobee is higher than it's been on a Dec. 2 in the past 14 years, since lake discharge regulations were last updated in 2008.

"With the recent rise of Lake Okeechobee above 16 feet we need to increase our released to 2000 cubic feet per second to the Caloosahatchee," Army Corps Col. James Booth said on a media call. "That’s still within the (estuary recovery flow range) and it’s consistent with the recommendation from the South Florida Water Management District."

The lake was at 16.5 feet above sea level Friday, according to the South Florida Water Management District.

Under the current regulation schedule, the Army Corps has worked to keep surface levels between 12.5 and 15.5 feet to ensure water for agriculture and urbanized areas while protecting towns south of the lake from flooding.

A new management plan, called the Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual, or LOSOM, is expected to be implemented this time next year.

The 2,000-cubic-feet-per-second is the combined rate of flows coming from the upper Caloosahatchee River watershed and Lake Okeechobee discharges.