WEST PALM BEACH – The plant for the Lake Okeechobee Component A Reservoir (LOCAR) is moving through the federal review process. At the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) Governing Board Aug. 8 meeting,  SFWMD Executive Director Drew Bartlett  said U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) headquarters is finishing up their review and it should go to Michael Conner, Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) this month.

 He said they are optimistic the LOCAR project will make it into the 2024 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) for federal funding. Congress can pass a WRDA every two years, although in the past has gone as long as seven years between WRDAs.

 “We all know Lake Okeechobee needs this reservoir and the estuaries that are connected to Lake Okeechobee need this reservoir,” said Bartlett.

LOCAR is an above ground reservoir which would store excess water north of Lake Okeechobee. Storage north of Lake O would reduce the need to release excess freshwater to the coastal estuaries. This water would also be available to meet water supply needs in times of drought.

The 12,000-acre reservoir, to be built in Highlands County,  would store water up to 18 feet deep  – holding the equivalent of about 5 inches of water on Lake Okeechobee.