The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will continue water releases from Lake Okeechobee to benefit the Caloosahatchee Estuary, water managers said this weekend.

Another seven-day pulse release started 7 a.m., on Friday, Nov. 26. The target

flow of this release is an average flow over the seven-day period of 450 cubic

feet per second (cfs) to the Caloosahatchee Estuary, measured at W.P. Franklin

Lock and Dam (S-79).

The Corps will make this release in a pulse-like manner to mimic basin response

to a rainfall event. Water managers expect this to help push back saltwater

intrusion, which will have other associated benefits to the estuary. The Corps

and partner agencies will continue to closely monitor and assess system

conditions, and may decrease releases if local basin runoff contributes to

flows.

The Corps discontinued target flows to the St. Lucie Estuary Sept. 25.

Today, the lake stage is 13.10 feet NGVD and continues to recede.

The lake is within the Operational Band of the 2008 Lake Okeechobee Regulation Schedule (2008 LORS).

More specifically, the lake level is currently in the Base Flow Sub-Band and the Corps may make releases up to 450 cfs and 200 cfs to the Caloosahatchee and St Lucie, respectively. In addition, the 2008 LORS allows these releases to be distributed east and/or west to minimize impacts or provide additional benefits.

For more information on water level and flows data for Lake Okeechobee and the

Central and Southern Florida Project, visit the Corps’ water management page

at: www.saj.usace.army.mil/Divisions/Engineering/Branches/WaterResources/Wate

Mgt/index.htm.