TCPALM.COM by Tyler Treadway
The Army Corps of Engineers will cut back discharges from Lake Okeechobee to the St. Lucie River to an average of 107. million gallons a day beginning Friday morning.
Water from the lake was flowing through the St. Lucie Lock and Dam and into the river Wednesday at an average rate of 357.4 million gallons a day.
Jim Jeffords, the corps operations chief for Florida, said the discharge reduction is possible because Lake Okeechobee is dropping significantly.
On Thursday, the lake elevation was 13 feet 2 1/8 inches, down 8 3/8 inches from May 1.
The corps wants to have the lake at 12 feet 6 inches by June 1 to allow space for heavy rains expected during the summer wet season.
Since the corps began discharges Jan. 16, more than 30 billion gallons of lake water has entered the river.
The discharges were suspended most of April but resumed May 1, despite a large algae bloom with toxins confirmed by the state Department of Environmental Protection in the lake and the western end of the C-44 Canal.
Algae blooms started showing up in the St. Lucie River and the backwaters, creeks and canals around it slightly more than two weeks later. The DEP has tested one of the blooms for toxins, and results are expected by the end of the week.
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http://www.tcpalm.com/franchise/indian-river-lagoon/health/corps-to-announce-status-of-lake-okeechobee-discharges-thursday_13912779