Associated Press
Federal officials are conducting daily inspections of the dike that surrounds Lake Okeechobee because of its near-record water levels but say it is not in danger of failing.
Almur Whiting of the Army Corps of Engineers said Thursday there has been some seepage through the Herbert Hoover Dike but it is not significant.
The corps is halfway through a $1.7 billion renovation program for the 80-year-old dike, which is scheduled for completion in 2025. The dike’s current water level is 17 feet – 4 feet higher than it was before Hurricane Irma passed over the area Sept. 10. Officials believe the water level has peaked.
The corps starts doing extra inspections when the level hits 16 feet.
Two failures of an earlier dike killed thousands in the 1920s.
Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
