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District reports low rainfall, Lake Okeechobee recovery progress and issues with estuary flows; Cape Coral faces Phase 4 restrictions
Summary
Board briefings on May 8 showed Lake Okeechobee at lower levels than in recent years but meeting recovery-day targets; staff described ongoing drought management, a recently issued Phase 4 irrigation restriction for Cape Coral, and continuing scrutiny of freshwater releases affecting estuary salinity and oyster recruitment.
District staff told the governing board on May 8 that the region has experienced an unusually dry dry season and described operational steps to protect water supplies and the environment.
Lake Okeechobee and dry-season status
Staff reported Lake Okeechobee at roughly 11.09 feet NGVD as of the meeting, tracking close to the district’s water-shortage management band. The district said inflows this water year were substantially below recent years — roughly 1.5 feet less than the prior year — but that operations had achieved multiple low-water days that count toward Lake Okeechobee recovery goals for submerged aquatic vegetation. Officials said about 22 days below 12.0 feet and 11 days below 11.5 feet had been recorded toward the regulatory benchmarks the Corps and district monitor for recovery operations.
Drought and water deliveries
Presenters warned that rainfall over the past dry season was well…
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