The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) is pleased to announce the North of Lake Okeechobee Storage Reservoir (LOCAR) Section 203 Final Feasibility Study and Report is now complete.

To read the Final Feasibility Study and Report, visit https://www.sfwmd.gov/

The purpose and need of the LOCAR Project is to identify storage north of Lake Okeechobee. The LOCAR project proposes to construct a 200,000-acre-foot reservoir to store water north of Lake Okeechobee for later use during dry periods and offer operational flexibility to draw and store water from the lake and basin to improve its littoral ecosystems.

The LOCAR Recommended Plan would achieve the goals and objectives of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) by improving the quantity, timing, and distribution of water entering Lake Okeechobee; provide for better management of lake water levels; reduce high flows to the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie Estuaries downstream of the lake; and improve systemwide operational flexibility.

The SFWMD continues its efforts to implement all on-going CERP storage projects including the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Reservoir Project, Lake Okeechobee Watershed Restoration Project, Caloosahatchee (C-43) Reservoir, and Indian River Lagoon-South reservoirs.

Concurrently with the LOCAR Section 203 Study, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers prepared an Environmental Impact Statement for the LOCAR Study. The Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was posted in the Federal Register in January 2024. The feasibility study and the EIS were submitted on February 28, 2024, to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works for consideration by Congress in the Water Resources Development Act of 2024.

For more information visit U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lake Okeechobee Component A Storage Reservoir (LOCAR) or visit SFWMD.gov/LOCAR.