LEE COUNTY, Fla. -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Friday that there will be no planned water releases from Lake Okeechobee this week.
"Due to drier conditions throughout the system, from the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes through Lake Okeechobee, the Water Conservation Areas and South Dade, we are not planning any releases from the lake this week," said Col. Andrew Kelly, Jacksonville District Commander. "We are keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Karen and continue to monitor the Atlantic basin, where tropical activity remains high."
They say the recent tropical storms seem to be pulling moisture away from Florida, rather than bringing the rain we might have expected this time of year.
Friday's stage at Lake Okeechobee is 13.69 feet, down 0.12 feet in the last week, but up 0.14 feet during the past 30 days.
They say that releases may be made at downstream structures in order to manage basin runoff and provide flood control along the waterway when pools get too high.
The Corps has not made targeted releases from the lake since July 12, with the exception of a brief 10-day average release of 200 cfs at the Moore Haven Lock and Dam to support a Corps algae research project.
Corps lock operators have reported visible signs of algae in the lake near Port Mayaca over the past week.
The Department of Environmental Protection report that according to the most recent viable satellite imagery, bloom potential continues to decrease in Lake Okeechobee and the estuaries remain free of bloom potential.
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