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More Lake Okeechobee Releases to Start Saturday

February 28, 2024
franklin lock and dam with bird perched on top

The next 14 days of Lake Okeechobee releases to the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie Estuaries will begin on March 2, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced this week. This is following 14 days of releases to the Caloosahatchee that averaged approximately 4,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) per day from Feb. 17 to March 1.

From March 2-15, a daily average of 4,085.7 cubic feet per second (cfs) is scheduled to be sent to the west coast, while an average of 1,800 cfs per day will be sent east. *

*Note: the pulse schedule has since been altered to lower the maximum average cubic feet per second to only 4,000 cfs from March 2 – 15, 2024.

Lake Okeechobee release schedule for March 2-15, 2024. While westward flows are measured at the S-77 lock, they often combine with basin runoff before they reach S-79 (the Franklin Lock and Dam) and the mouth of the Caloosahatchee Estuary.

“Large, long-duration releases damage our estuaries. We’re hoping that the Army Corps will be responsive to changing conditions in the estuary, especially as we’re heading into oyster spawning season,” said SCCF Environmental Policy Director Matt DePaolis. 

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Stay up to date with the impacts of these releases by subscribing to SCCF’s Weekly Water Conditions Tracker and Caloosahatchee Conditions Reports.

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