Restoration of the Everglades begins in the vicinity of Orlando. The Okeechobee River drains into Lake Okeechobee, a lake with an average depth of . During the wet season when the lake exceeds its capacity, the water leaves the lake in a very wide and shallow river, approximately long and wide. This wide and shallow flow is known as "sheetflow". The land gradually slopes toward Florida Bay, the historical destination of most of the water leaving the Everglades. Before drainage attempts, the Everglades comprised , taking up a third of the Florida peninsula. Since the early 19th century the Everglades have been a subject
Effects of Hurricane Irma in Florida in Florida. A survey conducted a few years before the hurricane indicated that a storm surge of just could flood Superfund sites in low-lying areas of South Florida, potentially causing toxic waste to enter aquifers used for drinking water. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) issued watches and warnings in Florida as Irma approached the state. At 15:00 UTC on September 7, a hurricane watch was issued for parts of South Florida, from the Jupiter Inlet to Bonita Beach, including the Florida Keys and Lake Okeechobee. The hurricane watch area was upgraded to a hurricane warning at 03:00 UTC on September