The federal agency that controls Lake Okeechobee levels is holding steady releases to the Caloosahatchee River as an algae bloom that's festered on the lake for months appears to be receding.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will continue releasing 1,000 cubic feet per second of lake water to the Caloosahatchee River, which often needs water from the lake during the dry season.
"We are looking good in terms of our recession rate," said Army Corps Col. Andrew Kelly, the agency's top officer in Florida on Friday. "May was about 30% of normal (rainfall) so we ended up with a pretty dry May. The lake is 1.14 feet lower than it was a month ago and just over a foot higher than it was last year, but at this point in time the recession rate we saw in May was pretty positive."