Lake Okeechobee’s water level stayed about the same last week.

According to South Florida Water Management District data, the big lake received 50,750 acre feet of direct rainfall and 27,240 acre feet of surface water inflows from the north during the seven-day period July 8-14.

Flow to the west to the Caloosahatchee River was 6,390 acre feet.  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has set the target flow for the river at 2,000 cubic feet per second (cfs), measured at the W.P. Franklin Lock, more than 40 miles from the Julian Keen Lock at Moore Haven, where lake water enters the river. If local basin runoff meets or exceeds that target, no water is released from the lake. When there is not sufficient local basin runoff, the river needs freshwater flow from the lake to maintain optimal salinity levels in the estuary.

Evapotranspiration (a combination of evaporation and plant transpiration) removed 37,810 acre feet of water from the lake. No water was released east to the St. Lucie canal or south. South of the lake, the farms, stormwater treatment areas (STAs) and water conservation areas (WCAs) continue to receive heavy rainfall as well.