2020-04-07 Army Corps of Engineers letterApril 8, 2020
CITY OF OKEECHOBEE
55 SE THIRD AVENUE
OKEECHOBEE, FL 34974
Phone: (863)763-3372
www. cityofokeechobee. com
VIA E-MAIL ONLY: Andrew. D.KellyAUSACE.Army.Mil
Colonel Andrew D. Kelly
Commander of the Jacksonville District
United States Army Corps of Engineers
701 San Marco Boulevard
Jacksonville, Florida 32207-8175
Subject: Lake Okeechobee Operations
Dear Colonel Kelly:
Okeechobee City Council
Mayor Dowling R. Watford, Jr.
Wes Abney
Monica Clark
Bob Jarriel
Bobby Keefe
The City of Okeechobee, the namesake of Lake Okeechobee, relies directly on the Lake for a multitude of
uses including public water supply, water supply for the agricultural sector which is vital to our
community, and the businesses that support our economy. Recreational use of the lake is also vitally
important to the people who live here and our many winter visitors. Given our inextricable link to the
Lake, we are directly impacted by the operational decisions made by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
(Corps).
From October 2018 through June 2019 and without upfront technical analysis, the Corps, unilaterally and
without public discussion, decided to accept the risk of a low water event/water shortage in 2020 in order
to lower the Lake to an abnormally low level by June 2019. Using what it described as "Additional
Operational Flexibility", approximately one foot of water was discharged from the Lake. The
consequences of that operational decision by the Corps is now upon us. The Lake is very quickly
approaching the Water Shortage band and four navigation locks at the northern end of the lake have been
closed due to the low lake stage (Attachment). The lesson is clear, last year's aggressive operations
have carried forward and we now must await, and hope for, replenishing summer rains.
Our City joins with the many concerned counties for responsible Lake management, asking the Corps for
science -based Lake operations that fully considers the interests of all communities. Spontaneous, extreme
operations simply do not work and only add risk to our region. We must stick with the Everglades
restoration plan and have the discipline to incrementally improve operations afforded by the new
infrastructure and operations. This opportunity is upon us now, as the Corps designs the next Lake
regulation schedule, LOSOM. Please take to heart the lessons of 2019-2020 and avoid the urge to include
undefined operational flexibility terms in LOSOM. Only through infrastructure can we responsibly and
predictably operate the Lake which is so important to all.
Si _r
,
Dowling R. Watford, Jr., Ma or
cc: SFWMD Governing Board; Drew Bartlett
I13
Navigation Notice
roolarch 3.0, 202C,
SFi RI, D T -e mpa irarIClosing Lake 0 k,e ec [-.i o b N-.
Navigational Locks to Prt)tEct Pul,'i i k Safety
Four larks on ,gor th shore or--- at -I'd hours r_ ,flet. d at'
:,9,f+,h fa kfor sG ety ; 'z '�7 ke corsd.it os
Today, the South F c:-' da *', ater IV anal =mt rrt: ai.strict (SFW Was=i o5 -d four
navigation locos r,:-: _ �e rorth shore and re€ used the op- ratirg h.. -our= of a fifth
loc;c because of lak=_ c:.-;deons_ :njLrf-and!ock damage could occur when bci=_ts
pass thro-ugh rhes -2 structures when lake Ievels are outside of designated safety
limits_
As of March. 30, 2 -_-:_ Okaechobee is .11.:95 feet',!GIVI _ The fol Im-Ang locks
Bra t3mp-.raril•y c c:{ad ff.- afew re=_sur-is wher. the lake fa_Ils balow 22 feet
i :3'4' 3:
I cls - 2�3
SFWMD Rainfall Distribution Comparison
(November 2018 - April 2020)
u
30
2
0
DRAFT
District Wide
Average Rainfall
wverage
M,M unche5
►rav =�+ 1
.ko a55
AA ..aa Wet
" aM
,eD 734 Season
OC a C3
w
Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May lune July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr
2018 2019 2020
2018-2019 DRY SEASON 9 WE7 SEASON 2019-2020 DRY SEASON
• Jan 2019 made dry seasonc? average to date.
above normal_ above normal (213%):
• Dry Season ended slightly ^Der
shove average. -, • Driest March �n 89 years of record
MEN
ilk
SFWMD Rainfall Distribution Comparison
(November 2018 - April 2020)
u
30
2
0
DRAFT
District Wide
Average Rainfall
wverage
M,M unche5
►rav =�+ 1
.ko a55
AA ..aa Wet
" aM
,eD 734 Season
OC a C3
w
Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May lune July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr
2018 2019 2020
2018-2019 DRY SEASON 9 WE7 SEASON 2019-2020 DRY SEASON
• Jan 2019 made dry seasonc? average to date.
above normal_ above normal (213%):
• Dry Season ended slightly ^Der
shove average. -, • Driest March �n 89 years of record