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
South Bay, Florida 1941. The first mayor of South Bay was Aubrey (a.k.a. "Orb") Walker, who, along with his brother, Haughty D. Walker (a.k.a. "Haught"), survived the great hurricane of 1928 by gathering his family members onto a barge in the canal. South Bay is located at (26.666487, -80.718985), near the southern bank of Lake Okeechobee. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , including of land and of (26.95%) water. The Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail runs through South Bay. As of the census of 2000, there were 3,859 people, 805 households, and 644 families residing