The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District plans to execute a minor adjustment to the current lake release schedule from Tuesday, February 21 through Friday, February 24, that will release water from Lake Okeechobee as part of an ongoing sediment study by the South Florida Water Management District and the U.S. Geological Survey.
The current lake release target has been in effect since January 20, 2023.
The releases for the upcoming sediment study will affect only the Port Mayaca Lock and Dam and the Julian Keen, Jr. Lock and Dam as water is released to support the study.
No downstream impacts are expected in the Caloosahatchee River Estuary due to the short duration of the study.
The purpose of the study is to better understand nutrient and sediment transport to the estuaries under different flow conditions. USACE executed similar deviations in 2021 and 2022 to support the same study.
This important research will help us understand the relationship between suspended sediment concentrations, how they originate, how they carry nutrients, and how that might impact algal bloom development and growth.
