The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will continue releasing water from Lake Okeechobee as we head into the wet summer season.
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Starting on Saturday, the agency said it will reduce the amount of water it releases into the St. Lucie Estuary.
Instead, the Corps is releasing water to the east, west, and south. Over the last seven days, 60 percent of the water has gone south into Palm Beach County.
Water managers said Thursday they're releasing water now so they hopefully don't have to release as much over the Summer when the algae risk is higher.
"Should the rain develop as forecast, we will have difficulty in taking the lake lower, so we want to continue releasing water while the opportunity remains," said Col. Andrew Kelly, the Jacksonville District Commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The agency said the water level at Lake O is at its lowest level since 2011, which will hopefully prevent significant releases in the summer.
