Rainfall pushes Lake Okeechobee higher

Instead of receding in the “dry” season, Lake Okeechobee is rising. Recent rainfall pushed the level of Lake Okeechobee over 16 feet.

On Friday, Jan. 12, Lake O was 16.05 feet. On Wednesday, Jan. 17, Lake Okeechobee was at 16.18 feet above sea level.

According to the South Florida Water Management District data, for the seven-day period Jan. 8-14, direct rainfall added 40,750 acre feet to Lake O and inflows totaled 30,020 acre feet. At the same time, outflows to the Caloosahatchee River were 11,400 acre feet; flow south was 350 acre feet and evapotranspiration (a combination of evaporation and plant transpiration) took up 17,330 acre feet.

With more water coming in that going out, the lake level rises.

To the west, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has set the target flow for the Caloosahatchee River at 2,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) which is within the beneficial flow range to keep the salinity levels in the optimal range in the estuary. Flow is measured at the W.P. Franklin Lock, which is more than 43 miles from Moore Haven where lake water enters the river through the Julian Keen Jr. Lock. If local basin runoff meets or exceeds the target flow, no lake water is released to the river.