Direct rainfall continues to be the source of most water entering Lake Okeechobee and evapotranspiration continues to be the way most water leaves the big lake.
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Direct rainfall continues to be the source of most water entering Lake Okeechobee and evapotranspiration continues to be the way most water leaves the big lake.
According to the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), during the seven-day period July 15-21, Lake O received 47,990 acre feet in direct rainfall and 18,570 acre feet in surface water inflows from the north. During that same period, evapotranspiration removed 47,800 acre feet of water from the lake.
The lake level stayed around 13.5 feet.
South of the lake direct rainfall continues to fill up the water conservation areas (WCAs). No lake water was released south because the farms and urban areas did not need lake water for water supply.
The target flow to the west remains at 2,000 cubic feet per second, measured at the W.P. Franklin Lock, which is more than 43 miles from the Julian Keen Junior Lock at Moore Haven, where lake water enters the Caloosahatchee River. If there is sufficient local basin runoff to meet or exceed that target, no water is released from Lake Okeechobee.
