Herbert Hoover Dike Report Available for Final Comment

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, is taking comments for the next 30 days on an environmental report related to the rehabilitation of Herbert Hoover Dike surrounding Lake Okeechobee.

The comment period for the final environmental impact statement on the Herbert Hoover Dike Dam Safety Modification Study opened, June 3, and will remain open until Sunday, July 3. The document focuses on the potential environmental impacts related to the Corps’ recommended plan to complete rehabilitation on the dike.

“We are nearing completion of this study, which has been undertaking concurrent with construction of some of the highest-priority, risk-reduction features,” said Tim Willadsen, project manager for Herbert Hoover Dike rehabilitation. “Completion of this report is another step for the approval of additional rehabilitation work that would start in fiscal year 2019.”

The recommended plan calls for installing 24 miles of seepage barrier, commonly known as a partial cutoff wall from Moore Haven to Lake Harbor. The Corps proposes installing an additional four miles of cutoff wall near Lakeport.

USACE also recommends armoring the embankment around the State Route 78 bridge near the Harney Pond Canal and installing floodwall near water control structures on the Harney Pond and Indian Prairie Canals.

This work, coupled with ongoing work to replace 28 water control structures around the dike, and approved plans to build six miles of cutoff wall between Belle Glade and Lake Harbor, comprise the remaining elements of the Herbert Hoover Dike rehabilitation program.