Okeechobee Waterway of Orlando and extending southward through the Kissimmee River Basin to the Everglades National Park to Florida Bay. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers manages five locks and dams along the Okeechobee Waterway. The St. Lucie lock was built in 1941 for navigation and flood-control purposes. In 1944, the connecting spillway structure was built for flood and regulatory flow control through the St. Lucie Canal to manage the water level in Lake Okeechobee. The Port Mayaca Lock and Dam was built in 1977 for navigation purposes, to permit the raising of water levels in Lake Okeechobee, and to moderate the
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