Corps to reduce flows into Caloosahatchee from Lake O

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will reduce water flows from Lake Okeechobee into the Caloosahatchee River starting Friday.

The new target will be 4,000 cubic feet per second as measured at Moore Haven Lock & Dam. The previous target had been 6,500.

It’s the second time the Corps has lowered flows this week, following last week’s decision to ratchet them up to peak levels amid Hurricane Matthew.

“One of the reasons for this is the South Florida Water Management District’s efforts to hold water in the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes to the north,” said Candida Bronson, acting operations division chief for the Jacksonville district of the Corps. “We are hopeful that their action, coupled with continued good weather, will cause the recession in the lake level to continue.”

Today’s lake stage is 15.97 feet, which is down 0.18 feet from a high of 16.15 feet following Matthew on Saturday.