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Kissimmee River discharges keep lake levels high

Posted at 6:59 PM, Oct 13, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-15 08:27:26-04

Billions of gallons of water each day is flowing in to Lake Okeechobee.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is only discharging around five billion gallons to the east and west.

That's why the lake has risen more than 3 feet in 30 days.

At the S-65 D locks, Bryant Culpepper says the sights and sounds of the water have been continuous for weeks.

"Force of that water coming through," said Culpepper.

Right now, more than 50,000 gallons per second are flowing through.

The reason for this is because the Kissimmee River just north of there is full.

"A lot of water," said Culpepper.

Hurricane Irma dumped so much rain on Central Florida.

"Those areas fill up, it's gotta go somewhere."

It's just one example of the storm water runoff heading south.

South Florida Water Management District leaders are looking to slow down those inflows and prevent rising lake levels.

The good news is the releases have actually slowed down a little bit due to dry weather.