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
Okeechobee County, Florida and (13.8%) is water. The Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, part of the Florida National Scenic Trail, runs along the Herbert Hoover Dike around the Lake. As of the census of 2010, there were 39,996 people, 13,857 households, and 9,016 families residing in the county. The population density was 46 people per square mile (18/km²). There were 15,504 housing units at an average density of 52 per square mile (8/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 87.9% White, 8.6% Black or African American, 1.3% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 1.2% from two or more races. 24.5% of