SFWMD Hosts Lake Okeechobee Workshops

The  South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) is conducting a series of workshops to solicit public input on plan alternatives for the Lake Okeechobee Watershed Restoration Project. 

These meetings will take place today, from 1 to 4 p.m. at SFWMD Okeechobee Service Center in Okeechobee, and tomorrow, from 9 a.m. to noon at SFWMD Headquarters B-1 in West Palm Beach.

Part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), the Lake Okeechobee Watershed Restoration Project is a planning effort being conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District to identify opportunities to improve the quantity, timing and distribution of flows into the 730-square-mile lake.

The project area, where placement of potential features are being considered, covers a large portion of the Lake Okeechobee Watershed north of the lake.

Goals and objectives for the project include:

• Increasing water storage capacity in the watershed, resulting in improved Lake Okeechobee water levels;
• Improving the quantity and timing of discharges to the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries;
• Restoring wetlands;
• Improving existing and future water supply.