November 21, 2024

At the Rivers Coalition meeting on Nov. 21 in Stuart, Florida, Maj. Cory J. Bell of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that the Corps will be starting Recovery Operations for Lake Okeechobee.

Recovery Operations are a strategy to lower the lake for the benefit of the lake’s ecology, including the health of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV).

Starting in December, the Corps is expected to begin releasing 2,100 cubic feet per second (cfs) from the lake to the Caloosahatchee Estuary — up from our current 2,000 cfs — and 1,400 cfs to the St. Lucie Estuary. The aim is to lower the lake from 16 feet to 12 feet.

2,100 cfs is still the upper end of the optimum flow envelope for the Caloosahatchee Estuary, and the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) will be monitoring water quality conditions after the releases.

The Corps will evaluate the success of the releases, which can be altered based on changing conditions in the lake and estuaries.

To stay informed, subscribe to SCCF's Weekly Water Conditions Tracker.

Visit the Lake Okeechobee and Caloosahatchee River Release Levels Tracker page on this Water Atlas.