Flow through the Franklin Lock on the Caloosahatchee River has increased this week, with no water released from Lake Okeechobee at Moore Haven.

On Wednesday, July 7, 2021 flow at the Franklin Lock was 2,860 cubic feet per second (cfs). Flow at the Ortona Lock was 1,609 cfs. Flow at the Julian Keen Jr. Lock was 0 cfs.

There was no flow from the lake to the river on Monday or Tuesday. For the  7 days ending July 7, flow from the lake into the Caloosahatchee River averaged just 63 cfs.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has set the target flow at the Franklin Lock at an average of 1,000 cfs. If there is sufficient local basin runoff to reach 1,000 cfs, no water is released from the lake. The  water is released in pulses, to mimic natural rainfall.  

Flows below 450 cfs (measured at the Franklin Lock) are considered harmful as the salinity levels in the estuaries are too high. Flows higher than 2,800 cfs are also considered harmful because the salinity levels drop too low. The ideal beneficial freshwater flow at the Franklin Lock advocated by estuary scientists is around 1,000 cfs, but the  ideal salinity level varies for different parts of the estuaries.

On the other side of the big lake, no water has been released to the St. Lucie River. The St. Lucie Canal (C-44 canal) is backflowing into Lake O. For the past seven days, the average flow into the lake from the St. Lucie Canal has been 452 cfs. No water has been released from the St. Lucie Canal east to the St. Lucie River since April 10.

On Thursday, Lake Okeechobee was at 13.14 feet above sea level. Average flow into the lake was 5,012 cfs. No water is flowing out of the lake. There is no capacity to send water south due to direct rainfall in that basin. Water Conservation Area -2A is more than a foot above schedule.