WEBVTT

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(upbeat music)

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- Hi. I am Colonel Andrew Kelly.

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I am the District Commander

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for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

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here in Jacksonville District.

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Wanted to take moment today to talk about

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the dry season strategy

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for Lake Okeechobee water management.

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What a difference a year makes.

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Last year at this time we were almost

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at exactly the same place

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with the lake at approximately 13 feet.

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What a different set of
scenarios that got us here.

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So last year we were intentionally trying

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to drive down the lake to a lower level

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for environmental reasons,

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and we were successful.

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This year after the
driest September on record

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and the shortest wet season
we've seen in a long time,

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we are holding water in Lake Okeechobee

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for water supply reasons.

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We are continuing to deliver
needed fresh water releases

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to the Caloosahatchee as long as possible

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as we watch the trends.

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The current trend is
to see Lake Okeechobee

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get to approximately 12
feet on the first of June

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which is a great place to be.

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Please connect with us and monitor

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the Jacksonville District Website

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not only to see our success from last year

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but to keep an eye on
what's happening this year

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as we continue to make
decisions and follow the trends

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to another good water year.