LAKE OKEECHOBEE, Fla. — As we all know we are still feeling the summertime heat and still have a ways to go in our hurricane season. But that’s not stopping the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to start to look ahead to our dry season when it comes to Lake Okeechobee.
“We are very happy with where the lake is,” said Maj. Cory Bell, Deputy District Commander for the USACE Jacksonville District. “We are lower than where we were last year at this time.”
Lake Okeechobee is currently sitting around 15 feet, about 4 inches lower than last year. But with 2 and half months left of hurricane season and dry season not typically starting until mid-October, Maj. Bell says the corps is remaining cautiously optimistic.
“We need some drier conditions so we can kind of move some water around some other places,” said Maj. Bell. “In the water conservation area specifically, across the trail. But we are very happy with where we are. We will continue monitor the hurricane traffic, but right now we are blessed.”
One thing that could make this dry season different than last year, is the developing La Nina in the pacific. NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center gives 71% chance of La Nina emerging between now and November and persisting until March 2025. That typically means a drier than normal winter in Southwest Florida, it also could mean lower lake levels.
“If we continue to get drier conditions, we may fall into the recovery envelope,” said Maj. Bell. “That is not a goal, but if it just happens that is great. It’s just a lot of managing what the conditions are going to be. And it’s just so hard to know what type of strong or weak La Nina that we may be expected to see.”
If we do drop into the recovery envelope, that could bring positive improvements to the submerged aquatic vegetation in the lake as well as the overall environment.
This coming dry season will also be the first under the new Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manuel or LOSOM, which the Corps has been using to operate the lake since earlier this summer. And with any new system, Maj. Bell says there will be a bit of a learning curve.
Maj. Bell says he expects the corps to have their full dry season strategy complete around end of October.
