Posted on August 20, 2024
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District (Corps), in coordination with the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) began implementation of the Increment 1 Planned Temporary Deviation to the Interim Regulation Schedule for Lakes Kissimmee, Hatchineha and Cypress (Lakes KHC), Aug. 14, which includes adjustments to the regulation schedule for these lakes.
This deviation is the first step in the phased implementation of the Kissimmee River Restoration (KRR) Project Headwaters Revitalization Schedule (HRS) for Lakes KHC (Figure 1). The Increment 1 Deviation (shown in Figure 2) also includes updated operating criteria at S-65 and S-65A structures to optimize releases for Kissimmee River restoration.
“We celebrated the completion of construction on the Kissimmee River Restoration Project in July of 2021,” noted Tim Gysan, Resilience Senior Project Manager. “That completed the first step in the restoration process, the physical restoration of the river.”
The purpose of the HRS is to reestablish historical (pre-channelization) flow patterns to the Kissimmee River. The HRS is the final component of the KRR project, which was authorized by Congress in 1992, and has been jointly developed and constructed by the Corps and SFWMD over the last 30 years.
“We can now move forward and begin taking the second step by providing necessary flows for the hydrologic restoration of the Kissimmee River ecosystem, while we continue to maintain the existing level of flood risk management within the Kissimmee River Basin,” continued Gysan.
Along with the completed project construction in 2021, Increment 1 will allow for further hydrologic restoration of the Kissimmee River and floodplain, while maintaining flood risk management and other project purposes in the Kissimmee River Basin. When restoration is completed, more than 40 square miles of river-floodplain ecosystem will be restored, including over 12,000 acres of wetlands and 40 miles of historic river channel.
For more information on the KRR project, please go to the following website: https://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Missions/Environmental/Ecosystem-Restoration/Kissimmee-River-Restoration/.
See the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District fact sheet on the Kissimmee River Restoration project for more details at: https://usace.contentdm.oclc.org/utils/getfile/collection/p16021coll11/id/5452
The Kissimmee River Restoration Project Increment 1 Planned Deviation will include adjustments to the regulation schedule for Lakes Kissimmee, Hatchineha, and Cypress, while beginning to provide necessary flows for the hydrologic restoration of the Kissimmee River ecosystem.
Figure 2. Increment 1 Deviation Operating Criteria.
