Lake
Okeechobee serves as the liquid
heart
of south Florida and the Everglades. As
the second largest freshwater lake located wholly within the continental
United States, and as the largest lake in Florida, it provides a number of
ecological and societal values. Lake Okeechobee:
- is home to one of the nation's prized bass and speckled perch
fisheries, as well as being an economically important commercial
fishery;
- is the primary source of water supply for the expansive Everglades
Agricultural Area, is a critical supplemental water supply for the
Everglades, and is the back-up water supply for millions of people
along the Lower East Coast;
- provides habitat for a wide variety of wading birds and migratory
waterfowl, including the federally endangered Everglades Snail Kite.
Management
of this water resource is a major challenge due to the often-competing
demands on the lake between water supply for agriculture, drinking water
for cities and towns around the lake, and the natural environment. When
the ecology of the lake, or the integrity of the Herbert Hoover Dike
surrounding it are threatened, lake discharges become necessary.
Biologists at the water management district have established that lake
levels in the range of 13.5-15.5 feet are favorable for the health of the
lake
(click
here for current lake level). As a
result, when lake levels begin to rise they institute a system of pulse
releases that simulate natural rainfall events in an effort to help keep
the lake level in check, and provide some level of protection to the
estuaries on the east and west coasts of Florida. Pulse releases are a way
for water managers to avoid continuous high-volume releases for weeks on
end, such as those that occurred in 1998, and allow salinity levels in the
estuary to remain in healthy ranges from fresh to salty.
To see how much water
is being released through the S-80 structure to the estuary on a given
day, you can click here. It is important to note that not all of the
water discharged through this structure can be directly attributed to Lake
Okeechobee. As it rains in the St. Lucie Basin (western Martin County),
the excess stormwater runoff enters the St. Lucie Canal and in turn must
flow out of the S-80 structure. In order to determine how much water from
Lake Okeechobee is actually finding its way into the estuary, we have to
look further to the west at the discharge
rate from the S-308 structure, click here. The S-308 structure sits on
the east side of the lake and discharges to the St. Lucie Canal. Often you
will see that although the S-80 structure has flow, the S-308 structure is
closed and not discharging. When this happens, the flow into the estuary
cannot be attributed to Lake Okeechobee and is only due to the local basin
runoff.
LINKS:
Florida Marine Research Institute
- Aquatic Health
Florida Oceanographic Society
South Florida Water Management
District -
Lake Okeechobee Operations
South Florida Water Management District
- St Lucie Estuary
Southeast
District Lake Okeechobee 
2012 State of Florida
