More Lake O water to flow into Caloosahatchee

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — More water from Lake Okeechobee will be flowing into the Caloosahatchee River, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Thursday.

The target flow will remain 2,800 cubic feet per second, but the point of measurement is changing from the W.P. Franklin Lock and Dam in east Lee County to the Moore Haven Lock, which is closer to the lake.

That way, the measurement won’t be inflated by rainfall over the river, and a higher percentage of the water will be coming straight from the lake, a Corps spokesperson explained.

The Corps manages the lake level in an effort to protect the aging Hoover Dike, but the releases have been blamed for murky water and algae outbreaks along the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers.

The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted to authorize a $1.9 billion series of engineering projects designed to reduce the need for lake discharges by sending more water south into the Everglades instead of east and west into the rivers.

The Central Everglades Planning Project, as the initiative is called, was part of a broader water-related bill that passed 95-3. Still, it needs approval from the House of Representatives before it can move forward.

“Senator Bill Nelson and I have done our part in getting this important Everglades restoration and water quality improvement project passed in the Senate, and now it’s time for the House to follow suit and get it passed into law,” Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said.

Nelson also expressed support for the effort.

“This is a big win for Florida,” he said. “We’ve seen firsthand the effect these toxic discharges can have on Florida’s waterways and the local communities that depend on them. Getting this project approved is a significant step forward in our ongoing efforts to restore the Everglades and provide folks some much needed relief.”