2024-01-02 VI. G. Lake Okeechobee Projects Report, Exhibit 9 • • Exhibit 9
11/4,, 4 MACVI CAR C ONSULTING,INC. 01/02/2024
. 1, SOL I I FL(>RIDA WATER RESoVRCIi SPISCIALISTS
Lake Okeechobee Projects October to December 2023
Lake Okeechobee Operations—A wet start to the dry season
The lake stage peaked at the end of the wet season at 16.34 feet. The dry season recession has
been interrupted twice by El Nino rainfall events and is still close to 16 feet. The Corps has
maintained a release target of 2,000 cfs to the Caloosahatchee while LORS release guidance has
consistently been 3,000 cfs at S-79 and 1,170 cfs to the St Lucie at S-80. They have come up
with a"banking" scheme in which they keep track of the water they did not release compared to
the schedule.
The Corps will continue with the release target of 2,000 cfs to the Caloosahatchee using this
previously"banked"water when LORS08 guidance falls to the 650 cfs category. The last time
this strategy was employed, over a foot of"banked"water remained in the lake when the next
wet season arrived. The Bottom line is that both estuaries get what they want and Lake
Okeechobee pays the price with higher water levels.
Lake Stage for the last several months with the current LORS08 schedule and future LOSOM
schedule are shown on the next page.
LOSOM—Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual
The LOSOM plan was final over a year ago, but at the last minute the National Marine
Fisheries Service filed a formal objection with the Corps alleging that the combination of Lake
releases and red tide was a threat to sea turtles along the coast. After months of unsuccessful
negotiations with the Jacksonville District,the issue was elevated to the agency heads in
Washington.
The NMFS wants the Corps to accept responsibility for water quality in the lake and along the
coast. The Corps has adamantly refused, including in public testimony before the Water
Resources subcommittee in Congress last month. Do to scheduling difficulty the agency heads
have not yet met but have scheduled something for mid-January. The Corps has assured us that
nothing in the proposed Water Control Plan for LOSOM will change from the final draft
released last summer.
The Water Control Plan presents a schedule that is markedly different from the one
recommended by the three-year public process. Rather then endorse the schedule selected
through a process that looked at several hundred thousand different plans,the Corps has picked
a schedule, one that cannot be modeled, that gives them the flexibility to select a release
volume every week based on conditions at the time when the lake is in Zone D. Water supply
interests strongly oppose this plan. The public will get a chance to comment on the final EIS
once it is released and there will be significant push-back on this flexibility concept. The final
approval for LOSOM is now expected in the spring, but may be delayed into the summer.
CERP
The District has completed a Section 203 study for above ground storage north of the lake. The
recommended plan is for 200,000 acre-feet of storage in a single reservoir located southeast of
Lake Istokpoga on the C-41 A canal. The Corps also completed and received comments on a
draft EIS for northern storage based on the District's 203 study.
110 •
MacVicar Consulting,Inc.
Quarterly Report
October to December 2023
Lake Okeechobee Stage and the Current Schedule (LORS08)
Lake Okeechobee Water Level and Management Zones Today's Stage 15.89 Last updated 1 212 0/202 3 is 50
18 High Lake Management Band
17 .
Intermediate
High
16 - ——
15 .
14 ..
a
co
Base Flow
m
m 13 -
Beneficial use
12 .
Water Shortage
10
Mar-2023 Jun 2023 Sep-2023 Dec-2023 Mar-2024
Lake Okeechobee Stage and the preferred alternative in LOSOM. The Water Control Plan
removes all the subzones in Zone D and converts it to one large Zone with flexibility for the
Corps to choose releases from 0 to 2,000 cfs to the Caloosahatchee and no flow to the St Lucie.
Lake Okeechobee Water Level and LOSOM PA25 Zones Today's Stage 15.89 Last Updated 12/20,2023 15.50
18 — _.. ___._.-......_...
Zone A
17
Zone BIC
16 =
Zone D1
Zone D2
9 15
a, 14
rn
in Zone D3
a,
m 13
12
Water Shortage
tt --
10
Mar-2023 Jun-2023 Sep-2023 Dec-2023 Mar•2024
2