Posted on 10/01/2017 1:04:39 PM PDT by janetjanet998
oct 9th 17.16 +.08
oct 10th 17/20 +.04
a break in the rain continues but more rain later this week
They cant dump water south because the everglades and lakes are also very high and flooded
Lake Okeechobee dangerously high, dike threatened after recent rains
Posted: 5:09 p.m. Monday, October 09, 2017
The liquid center of the Sunshine State is dangerously swollen, reaching a 12-year high that threatens the fragile Herbert Hoover Dike as well as the grassy habitats that give life to Lake Okeechobee.
At 17.16 feet above sea level on Monday, the lake has risen more than 3 feet in a month with rainfall from Hurricane Irma and a tropical wave that washed through last week quickly filling the enormous bowl of freshwater.
The Army Corps of Engineers began daily inspections of the vulnerable south side of the dike over the weekend, finding leaks of clear water in areas prone to seepage. The fact that the water is clear is a good sign, meaning the dike isn’t being eroded, said Corps spokesman John Campbell.
According to the South Florida Water Management District, September rainfall in the Kissimmee basin that flows into Lake Okeechobee was double what’s normal for the month, with more than 12 inches falling.
Ten days into October, rain totals in the same areas north of Lake Okeechobee remain above normal.
Campbell said because rain amounts have also been high to the east and west of the lake — the two main arteries for dumping water — the Corps has had limited options on where to put the water.
“This all goes back to water management and we have to build reservoirs to hold more water and slow the water down north of the lake,” Gray said. “It makes me sick to my stomach that the lake has been good the last five years and now we’ve had this terrible change of fortunes.”
lake has been steady the past few days as outflows and evap have matched inflows lake at 17.19
however rain is returning and 1-3 inches likely to next 24 hours over the lake and basin
more articles about how to prevent problems like now in the future...
South Florida Water Management District looks for solutions to rising lake levels
South Florida Water Management District leaders are calling this one of the wettest rainy seasons ever.
Lake Okeechobee levels are rising and billions of gallons of water are flowing through the St. Lucie Locks.
Over the years, Pastor Kenny Berry in Belle Glade, says the issue comes up again and again.
“We need to be considered out here in the Glades,” said Berry.
At a South Florida Water Management District meeting Thursday, potential solutions to the issue were presented.
“It’s going to take a combination north, east, south, and west of Lake Okeechobee,” said Randy Smith with SFWMD.
One in particular is deep injection wells.
The district is looking into drilling 50 wells on the northern part of the lake.
Each well can store 5 million gallons of storm water runoff per day.
The estimated cost is $330 million.
http://www.wptv.com/news/region-the-glades/south-florida-water-management-district-looks-for-solutions-to-rising-lake-levels
Help needed now for Lake Okeechobee’s troubled dike | Editorial
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/editorials/fl-op-editorial-lake-okeechobee-repairs-20171012-story.html
Okeechobee Inflows (cfs):
S65E 3887 S65EX1 3749 Fisheating Cr 1089
S154 231 S191 664 S135 Pumps 84
S84 1948 S133 Pumps 121 S2 Pumps 0
S84X 0 S127 Pumps 96 S3 Pumps 0
S71 225 S129 Pumps 43 S4 Pumps 0
S72 105 S131 Pumps 16 C5 0
Total Inflows: 12256
Okeechobee Outflows (cfs):
S135 Culverts 0 S354 0 S77 7119
S127 Culverts 0 S351 0 S308 5275
S129 Culverts 0 S352 0
S131 Culverts 0 L8 Canal Pt 36
Total Outflows: 12430
Dry season around the corner, but will it be too late for Lake O?
Posted: 7:00 a.m. Friday, October 13, 2017
South Florida’s dry season can’t come soon enough for beleaguered Lake Okeechobee, which maintained its 17.2-foot bloat Thursday while water managers debated multi-million-dollar efforts to drain future overflows.
The average dry season start date falls between Oct. 12 and Oct. 19, but whether Mother Nature will follow her own climatology this year is questionable, especially considering a hearty hurricane season that might simmer into early November.
We’re releasing as much as we can without creating downstream flooding impacts,” said Corps spokesman John Campbell. “We recognize additional precipitation could result in the lake resuming its rise, which is why we continue to release water so we can retain as much storage as possible.”
Campbell said Thursday the lake had been stable at 17.2 feet for 72 hours.
The forecast calls for most of the showers to be along the southeast coast. While rain chances stay at 50 percent through the weekend, a deluge is not expected.
“Toward the end of next week, the models do hint at some dry air filtering in from the north,” Baxter said. “But we’re stuck with deeper moisture through the weekend.”
the lake crested at 17.2 feet about 10days ago and is now at 16.81, however a tropical depression will combine with a front and dump 2-5 inches over the area today....
meanwhile
White House Says It Will Expedite Funding For Lake O Dike Repairs
http://wlrn.org/post/white-house-says-it-will-expedite-funding-lake-o-dike-repairs
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