This is the response I got from E-Mail
* Good morning,
* Mr. Wilson,
* The Kissimmee Chain of Lakes is a rain-driven system. Rainfall has been below normal since August, creating the situation that we have now.
* The five-gated structure at State Road 60 -- S65 -- does allow a base flow to the river as long as Lake Kissimmee is above 48.5 feet above man sea level. Today Lake Kissimmee is at about 49.4 feet above mean sea level, so about 1800 gallons a second is flowing to the Kissimmee River. Rivers flow, their ecology requires flow. So the S65 is operated in way to mimic what occurred naturally before the structure was there -- when the lake is high, the flow is high, when the lake is low, the flow is low. And when we're in an extreme drought, the flow may be stopped.
* I realize that lake levels are low. But, unfortunately that condition will continue until we receive the rainfall necessary to bring up the lake levels.
* We have received a number of calls from concerned residents. Those concerns have been elevated to District leadership.
* Thank you
* I hope this helps.
* William Graf
* Regional Representative
* South Florida Water Management District
* Orlando Service Center
* 1707 Orlando Centreal Parkway, Suite 200
* Orlando, FL 32809
* 407) 858-6100, Ext 3837
* 352) 516-5436 -- Cell