LEE COUNTY, Fla. -- The U.S. Corps of Engineers announced Thursday that while they're increasing the amount of water flowing into the St. Lucie River, the amount of water heading into the Caloosahatchee River will remain the same.
The only change in the Caloosahatchee is the point at which the water will be measured.
Water has been flowing west from Lake Okeechobeee at an average rate of 2800 cubic feet per second since mid-July, and the Corps is maintaining that rate for now. The only change is that water was being monitored from the W.P. Franklin Lock near Fort Myers. It will now be measured at Moore Haven Lock.
They have, however, increased the water flow rates heading east into the St. Lucie River, from 650 cubic feet per second to 1,170 cfs.
"We have averaged 8,000 cfs of flow into the lake and only 650 cfs of outflow over the past week," said Candida Bronson, Acting Operations Division Chief for the Jacksonville District. "Rainfall over the estuaries, particularly to the west, has limited the amount of water we could get off the lake."
Thursday, the lake stage was 15.36 feet, up 0.26 feet over the past week.
