LEE COUNTY, Fla. -- A steady flow of water releases from Lake Okeechobee will continue into Southwest Florida through next week.
The Army Corps of Engineers has announced that for the fifth-straight week it'll neither increase nor decrease flows out of the lake.
For months it's been dumping water into the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie Rivers, all in effort to stabilize the lake's level and ease pressure on the Hoover Dike.
The target flow for the Caloosahatchee Estuary remains at a seven-day average of 2,800 cubic feet per second, measured at W.P. Franklin Lock & Dam located near Fort Myers.
The target flow for the St. Lucie Estuary remains at a seven-day average of 650 cfs at St. Lucie Lock & Dam near Stuart.
The Corps will continue releasing water from the lake in a "pulse" fashion which means flows will vary during the seven-day release period.
Thursday, the lake stage was 14.75 feet, unchanged from last week. Under current conditions, the 2008 Lake Okeechobee Regulation Schedule authorizes the Corps to discharge up to 3,000 cfs to the Caloosahatchee and up to 1,170 cfs to the St. Lucie.
