Kissimmee-Okeechobee Everglades (KOE) Watershed

• Lake Okeechobee• Large, shallow eutrophic lake• Large feature of KOE watershed• 669 sq miles• Average depth 2.7m• 2nd largest freshwater lake in US (Lake Michigan is

the 1st)

• Lake Okeechobee• Drainage basin – 4600 sq miles

• Early accounts describe lake as filled to brim and overflowing• Hurricane of 1928 – killed over 700 people

• Surrounded lake with mound of dirt (levee)

• Lake Okeechobee• Once natural lake and wetland system• Now functions as water supply and flood

control• Canals now drain through to the coasts

• Loss of wetlands surrounding the lake prevents filtration of water leading to the lake

• Excess phosphorus and nitrates• Then this excess can be leaked to the coasts• Nutrient pollution

• Complex water management in the region• Due to high rainfall, periods

of drought, hurricanes, etc.• Excess water stored in lakes,

detention ponds, impoundments, aquifers, or is discharged to the coast and the estuaries• Outflows from Lake

Okeechobee are received by the St. Lucie River, Caloosahatchee River, and the Everglades Agricultural area

Tcpalm

Historic and Current Flow of Water