Hurricane floodwaters continue to drain south into Lake O

Posted 10/27/22

Runoff from Hurricane Ian’s rain continues to flow down the Kissimmee River into Lake Okeechobee.

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Hurricane floodwaters continue to drain south into Lake O

Courtesy South Florida Water Management District
Courtesy South Florida Water Management District
Posted

Runoff from Hurricane Ian’s rain continues to flow down the Kissimmee River into Lake Okeechobee.

According to the Oct. 26 Environmental Conditions Report from the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), lake levels in the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes are high, but starting to decline.

“For the week ending Oct.23, 2022, average discharge at S-65 and S-65A were 9,500 cubic feet per second (cfs) and 9,400 cfs, respectively, both of which are less than the previous week. Average weekly water depth on the Kissimmee River floodplain decreased from the previous week to 4.76 feet,” the report states.

Dissolved oxygen levels in the river are improving but still low, due to the heavy flow from northern runoff. The weekly average concentration of dissolved oxygen in the Kissimmee River increased from 1.0 mg/L the previous week to 1.4 mg/L for the week ending October 23. This is above the potentially lethal level for largemouth bass and other sensitive species, but still within the physiologically stressful range. (Levels below 1.0 mg/L can be lethal to fish.)

Lake Okeechobee was at 15.67 feet above sea level on Oct. 26, and continues to rise. At 15.5 feet, the lake’s marshes are completely innundated with water. As the lake level continues to rise, water stacks up against the Herbert Hoover Dike, the earthen berm that surrounds the Big O for flood control. Levels above 16 feet are damaging to the marshes and submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV). These plants are critical to the lake’s ecosystem, providing habitat for fish and wildlife and cleaning the water of nitrogen and phosphorus.

On Oct. 26, inflow into Lake Okeechobee from the north averaged 10,801 cfs. That’s about 7 billion gallons of water per day, or enough to raise the lake by about 4 inches per week. One inch on Lake Okeechobee is about 12 billion gallons of water.

Algal bloom potential on the lake continues to be low. No visible blooms have been reported.  Routine sampling of lake water found no toxins.

Lake Okeechobee, runoff

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