HEALTH

Army Corps: No Lake Okeechobee discharges to St. Lucie River for now, but likely soon

Tyler Treadway
Treasure Coast Newspapers

The Army Corps of Engineers won't discharge Lake Okeechobee water to the St. Lucie River for now, Col. Andrew Kelly, the Corps commander for Florida, announced Friday.

Discharges are still likely, Kelly added in the phone-in news conference.

"It is likely we'll have to send water to the estuaries before the (rainy) season is over," Kelly said. "We don't want to, but if we have to, we will."

The discharges, which Kelly had warned might be coming, were postponed because the Corps and the South Florida Water Management District were able to find places south of the lake to send it instead.

Col. Andrew Kelly, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers commander for Florida

"We were able to get enough to the south to remain comfortable" that there was no threat to the integrity of the Herbert Hoover Dike surrounding the lake, Kelly said.

Preventing a dike breach that could cause massive flooding around the lake is the Corps' priority, he added.

Kelly noted the causes for discharges remain: Lake O rising quickly and the threat of storms through the remainder of the hurricane season.

Lake O's elevation was 15 feet, 3 inches Thursday morning. The lake has risen almost 3 inches in the last week and slightly over a foot in the last 30 days.

The lake is 1½ feet higher than it was a year ago.

King tide flooding 

The Corps also factored in this week's flooding of low-lying areas of Martin County, particularly along the South Fork of the St. Lucie River, just downstream of the St. Lucie Lock and Dam where Lake O discharges would enter the river.

"We absolutely are watching all that," Kelly said. "We work very hard to not cause harm to anyone at anytime." 

More:Corps could delay Lake O discharges because of king tides, algae

The flooding was caused by a combination of high seasonal tides, called "king tides," and a heavy swell along Florida's East Coast caused by Hurricane Teddy far out in the Atlantic Ocean.

Adding Lake O water to the South Fork could have made the flooding worse in areas such as Old Palm City and the St. Lucie Settlement.

"We know there is the potential to exacerbate what was going on there," Kelly said.

The Corps also considered algae on Lake O a factor in delaying discharges, although Kelly noted the blooms "are not looking terrible at this point."

An image derived from a satellite photo of Lake Okeechobee taken Thursday, Sept. 23, 2020, shows moderate to high concentrations of  algae in the northern half of the lake. The lake's northeast shore near the Port Mayaca Lock and Dam is obscured by clouds.

'D' grade

Even without Lake O discharges, millions of gallons of water a day has been pouring through the St. Lucie Lock and Dam, all from the C-44 Canal watershed in western Martin County, dominated by agriculture.

The water has dropped the saltiness of the estuary to a point that threatens oysters and seagrass, both of which are key to the estuarine ecosystem.

Water quality in the estuary was graded C-plus Thursday by the Florida Oceanographic Society in Stuart. Water in the South Fork was graded D, mostly because salinity was at 3 parts per thousand when it should range from 15 to 25 parts per thousand.

Tyler Treadway is an environment reporter who specializes in issues facing the Indian River Lagoon. Support his work on TCPalm.com.  Contact him at 772-221-4219 and tyler.treadway@tcpalm.com.