Water-Related News

Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual to replace LORS after nearly 20 years

LOSOM guidelines are expected to reduce discharges to the Caloosahatchee River and St. Lucie Canal by 40%

After several years of back and forth, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has finalized their recommendation for a new regulation schedule for Lake Okeechobee.

The Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual (LOSOM) will soon be the guidelines used by the Army Corps to make decisions about the lake, including those involving discharges.

Under the previous guidelines, the Army Corps did not account for blue green algae when deciding on when and how much water to discharge. When the lake's height reached problematic levels, the USACE would discharge water to coastal estuaries like the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon, leading to toxic algae issues.

Now with LOSOM, accounting for algae is part of the plan. Discharges will be sent to the Everglades rather than east to some of our local waterways.