St. Lucie Canal

Last updated
St. Lucie Canal
St Lucie Canal - panoramio.jpg
The St. Lucie Canal as seen from US 98 looking east
Location Martin County, Florida
Country United States
Coordinates 27°02′22″N80°23′00″W / 27.0394°N 80.3832°W / 27.0394; -80.3832 Coordinates: 27°02′22″N80°23′00″W / 27.0394°N 80.3832°W / 27.0394; -80.3832
Specifications
Length26 miles (42 km)
Locks2
Total rise 11–12.5 feet (3.4–3.8 m)
Navigation authority U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
History
Construction began1916
Date completed1924
Geography
Start point Lake Okeechobee
End point Indian River Lagoon
Route map
BSicon uCONTg.svg
BSicon uSKRZ-G4u.svg
Southwest Martin Highway
BSicon ueABZgl.svg
South Branch St. Lucie River
BSicon uSKRZ-G4u.svg
I-95.svg I-95
BSicon uSKRZ-G4u.svg
Florida's Turnpike
BSicon uvxWDAMM+LOCKg.svg
St. Lucie Lock and Dam
BSicon uSKRZ-G2u.svg
CR 76A jct.svg CR 76A
BSicon uSKRZ-G4u.svg
Florida 710.svg SR 710
BSicon umKRZusw.svg
Auburndale Subdivision (CSX)
BSicon umKRZu.svg
K Branch (SCXF)
BSicon uSKRZ-G2u.svg
US 98.svg US 98
BSicon uvxWDAMM+LOCKg.svg
Port Mayaca Lock and Dam
BSicon uDOCKS.svg
Lake Okeechobee
BSicon uCONTf.svg

The St. Lucie Canal, also known as the C-44 Canal or simply C-44, is a man-made canal in Martin County, Florida, connecting Lake Okeechobee to the Indian River Lagoon. The canal was built between 1916 and 1924 to divert floodwaters from the lake into the St. Lucie Estuary via the South Fork of the St. Lucie River. Deepend in 1937 to enable the passage of boats, the St. Lucie Canal is now the eastern segment of the Okeechobee Waterway. [1]

Contents

The C-44 has been a source of contention since its construction. [1] The canal has had significant environmental impacts—restoration projects in the St. Lucie River are the northernmost component of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. [2]

Description

The St. Lucie Canal connects to Lake Okeechobee at Port Mayaca, Florida. The canal is 8 feet (2.4 m) deep as a result of its second deepening in 1949. It has a rate of flow of 9,000 cubic feet (250 m3) per second. In 1933, 16 fixed spillways were approved for construction to reduce shoaling.

The C-44 has a drainage basin of 185 square miles (480 km2), equivalent to 117,000 acres (47,000 ha). [1]

Water flow

In 1924, the canal′s original flow capacity was 5,000 cubic feet (140 m3) per second. In 1937, the canal was deepened to 6 feet (1.8 m) increasing its flow capacity. In 1949, it was deepened to 8 feet (2.4 m), which increased the flow capacity to 9,000 cubic feet (250 m3) per second.

According to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the St. Lucie Canal flows both east to the St. Lucie Estuary and west to Lake Okeechobee "on about an equal basis." [1]

The St. Lucie Canal connects to the Caloosahatchee Waterway, which connects Lake Okeechobee to the Gulf of Mexico at Fort Myers, Florida.

Locks and structures

There are two locks on the St. Lucie Canal. The Port Mayaca Lock and Dam (also known as S-308) is located at the western end of the canal at its outlet to Lake Okeechobee. Its rise is typically 0.5–2 feet (0.15–0.61 m). [3] The St. Lucie Lock and Dam (S-80) divides the canal from sea level on the eastern side, a rise of about 10.5 feet (3.2 m). [4]

A structure known as S-153 regulates water flow from the Levee 65 Borrow Canal into the St. Lucie Canal.

Environmental and navigation problems

Fresh water discharge

One of the major problems resulting from the construction of C-44 is that control of the water levels of Lake Okeechobee causes too much fresh water to discharge from the canal into the St. Lucie Estuary. Large discharges from Lake Okeechobee into C-44 cause salinity levels to drop rapidly, killing many species in the estuary.

Turbidity

High flow rates in the canal result in erosion and the transport of sediment into the St. Lucie Estuary that can smother benthic habitats. The increased turbidity of high flow rates also results in sediment filling navigation channels.

Drainage basin

Drainage from the canal′s drainage basin into the St. Lucie Canal creates water quality problems in the St. Lucie Estuary.

History

Construction of the C-44 Canal began in 1916 and was completed in 1924. The original purpose of the canal was to allow for an improved way to divert floodwaters from Lake Okeechobee. The canal was originally designed to flow into Manatee Pocket instead of the South Fork of the St. Lucie River.

The C-44 has been a source of contention since its construction in 1916. [1] Records indicate that people have been complaining about the negative impacts of the canal since the early 1950s. [1]

Timeline

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Okeechobee</span> Natural freshwater lake in Florida, United States

Lake Okeechobee, also known as Florida's Inland Sea, is the largest freshwater lake in the U.S. state of Florida. It is the tenth largest natural freshwater lake among the 50 states of the United States and the second-largest natural freshwater lake contained entirely within the contiguous 48 states, after Lake Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinity River (Texas)</span> River in Texas, United States

The Trinity River is a 710-mile (1,140 km) river, the longest with a watershed entirely within the U.S. state of Texas. It rises in extreme northern Texas, a few miles south of the Red River. The headwaters are separated by the high bluffs on the southern side of the Red River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seven Oaks Dam</span> Dam in near Mentone, California

Seven Oaks Dam is a 550-foot (170 m) high earth and rock fill embankment dam across the Santa Ana River in the San Bernardino Mountains, about 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Redlands in San Bernardino County, southern California. It impounds Seven Oaks Reservoir in the San Bernardino National Forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caloosahatchee River</span> River on the southwest coast of Florida, US

The Caloosahatchee River is a river on the southwest Gulf Coast of Florida in the United States, approximately 67 miles (108 km) long. It drains rural areas on the northern edge of the Everglades, east of Fort Myers. An important link in the Okeechobee Waterway, a manmade inland waterway system of southern Florida, the river forms a tidal estuary along most of its course and has become the subject of efforts to restore and preserve the Everglades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port Mayaca, Florida</span>

Port Mayaca is a sparsely populated place located in western Martin County, Florida, United States, on the eastern side of Lake Okeechobee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Okeechobee Waterway</span> Canal in Florida, United States of America

The Okeechobee Waterway or Okeechobee Canal is a relatively shallow artificial waterway in the United States, stretching across Florida from Fort Myers on the west coast to Stuart on Florida's east coast. The waterway can support tows such as barges or private vessels up to 50 feet wide x 250 feet long which draw less than 10 feet, as parts of the system, especially the locks may have low water depths of just ten feet. The system of channels runs through Lake Okeechobee and consists of the Caloosahatchee River to the west of the lake and the St. Lucie Canal east of the lake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dworshak Dam</span> Dam in Idaho

Dworshak Dam is a concrete gravity dam in the western United States, on the North Fork of the Clearwater River in north central Idaho. In Clearwater County, the dam is located approximately four miles (6 km) northwest of Orofino and impounds the Dworshak Reservoir for flood control and hydroelectricity generation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herbert Hoover Dike</span>

The Herbert Hoover Dike is a dike around the waters of Lake Okeechobee in Florida.

Isabella Dam is an embankment dam located in the Kern River Valley, about halfway down the Kern River course, between the towns of Kernville and Lake Isabella in Kern County, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Lucie River</span> River in the United States of America

The St. Lucie River is a 35-mile-long (56 km) estuary linked to a coastal river system in St. Lucie and Martin counties in the Florida, United States. The St. Lucie River and St. Lucie Estuary are an "ecological jewel" of the Treasure Coast, central to the health and well-being of the surrounding communities. The river is part of the larger Indian River Lagoon system, the most diverse estuarine environment in North America with more than 4,000 plant and animal species, including manatees, oysters, dolphins, sea turtles and seahorses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auburn Dam</span> Dam in Near Auburn, California

Auburn Dam was a proposed concrete arch dam on the North Fork of the American River east of the town of Auburn, California, in the United States, on the border of Placer and El Dorado Counties. Slated to be completed in the 1970s by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, it would have been the tallest concrete dam in California and one of the tallest in the United States, at a height of 680 feet (210 m) and storing 2,300,000 acre-feet (2.8 km3) of water. Straddling a gorge downstream of the confluence of the North and Middle Forks of the American River and upstream of Folsom Lake, it would have regulated water flow and provided flood control in the American River basin as part of Reclamation's immense Central Valley Project.

The Central Utah Project is a US federal water project that was authorized for construction under the Colorado River Storage Project Act of April 11, 1956, as a participating project. In general, the Central Utah Project develops a portion of Utah's share of the yield of the Colorado River, as set out in the Colorado River Compact of 1922.

The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) is a regional governmental district that oversees water resources from Orlando to the Florida Keys. The mission of the SFWMD is to manage and protect water resources by balancing and improving water quality, flood control, natural systems and water supply, covering 16 counties in Central and Southern Florida. It is the largest water management district in the state, managing water needs for 7.7 million residents. A key initiative is the restoration of America's Everglades – the largest environmental restoration project in the nation's history. The District is also working to improve the Kissimmee River and its floodplain, Lake Okeechobee and South Florida's coastal estuaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Draining and development of the Everglades</span> Development of the Florida Everglades

A national push for expansion and progress toward the latter part of the 19th century stimulated interest in draining the Everglades, a region of tropical wetlands in southern Florida, for agricultural use. According to historians, "From the middle of the nineteenth century to the middle of the twentieth century, the United States went through a period in which wetland removal was not questioned. Indeed, it was considered the proper thing to do."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spring Creek Dam</span> Dam in Shasta County, California

Spring Creek Debris Dam is an earthfill dam on Spring Creek, a tributary of the Sacramento River, in Shasta County in the U.S. state of California. Completed in 1963, the dam, maintained by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, serves primarily to collect severe acid mine drainage stemming from the Iron Mountain Mine. The dam forms the Spring Creek Reservoir, less than 1 mile (1.6 km) long. Spring Creek and South Fork Spring Creek flow into the reservoir from a 16-square-mile (41 km2) watershed. The dam is directly upstream from the city of Keswick, California and the Keswick Reservoir. The operation is part of the Trinity River Division of the Central Valley Project.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port Mayaca Lock and Dam</span> Dam in Florida, United States

The Port Mayaca Lock is a navigable lock and dam on the Okeechobee Waterway, adjacent to U.S. Route 441 and U.S. Route 98 at Canal Point, in Martin County, Florida, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upper North Fork Feather River Project</span>

The Upper North Fork Feather River Project is a hydroelectric scheme in the Sierra Nevada of California, within Lassen and Plumas Counties. The project consists of three dams, five power plants, and multiple conduits and tunnels in the headwaters of the North Fork Feather River, a major tributary of the Feather—Sacramento River systems. The total installed capacity is 362.3 megawatts (MW), producing an annual average of 1,171.9 gigawatt hours (GWh). The project is also contracted for the delivery of irrigation water between March 31 and October 31 of each year. The project is owned and operated by Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mojave Forks Dam</span> Dam in Hesperia, California

The Mojave Forks Dam, most often known as the Mojave River Dam, is an earth-fill dry dam across the Mojave River in San Bernardino County, California in the United States. Completed in 1974 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the dam is located at the confluence of the West Fork Mojave River and Deep Creek, and can store approximately 179,400 acre⋅ft (221,300,000 m3) of water.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Florida Department of Environmental Protection -- Ecosummary: C-44 Canal, Martin County, Florida" (PDF). Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Florida Department of Environmental Protection. March 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 December 2016.
  2. "Florida Department of Environmental Protection -- Significance of North Fork St. Lucie River Aquatic Preserve".
  3. "Jacksonville District – Port Mayaca Lock and Dam". www.saj.usace.army.mil. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers . Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  4. "Jacksonville District – St. Lucie Lock and Dam". www.saj.usace.army.mil. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers . Retrieved 19 February 2022.