Tsala Apopka Update - 8/22/2025

Update on the Tsala Apopka Chain of Lakes

 

Just wanted to send a quick update on lake and structure conditions.

 

Rainfall and Lake Levels

• If you haven’t noticed, water levels are very low for this time of year.
• We have been getting some rain this summer, but the storms haven’t lasted long enough or dropped enough widespread rainfall to raise water levels much.
• During this time of year, the lakes/wetlands/canals that make up the lake chain will naturally decline 8 inches per month if we don’t get any rain. (from evaporation and downward seepage)
• That means we need 8 inches of rain in August, over the entire lake chain, just to maintain the same level, and more than that for the lakes to rise.
• Wet season rainfall has been much lower this year, compared to last year, as you can see in the small table on the chart below.
• Currently, all three pools are about 2 ½ feet below their high levels (which is our target for the end of the wet season).
• The good news is we’re getting a good, soaking rain this morning which will raise water levels some. We just need a whole lot more where that came from.

  

Water Control Structures

• When the Withlacoochee River is high enough, we can move water from the river into the lakes, to help supplement water levels.
• The Leslie Heifner and Floral City structures, on the inflow canals, have been fully open for the past month.
• The Golf Course and Brogden Bridge structures have also been open, helping to share incoming river water between all three pools.
• Despite river flow entering the lakes for several weeks now, lake levels haven’t risen much.
• What is flowing into the lakes is barely offsetting evaporation, which is why the lakes haven’t dropped much over the past month. But they aren’t rising either.
• This is because the Withlacoochee River is also still very low, so minimal flow has been able to enter the lake chain so far this summer.
• Some years, the lakes receive more rain and rise high enough without river inflows. Other years, the river gets all the rain and can flow strong into the lakes.
• But this year, neither the lake chain nor the Green Swamp (headwaters of the Withlacoochee) have received enough rainfall for either of them to rise substantially yet.
• We still have a month left in the wet season, so hopefully we’ll get enough rainfall to top things off this year, without causing any flooding of course. 😊

 

Take care,

Mark

 

 

 

Mark Fulkerson, Ph.D., P.E.

Chief Professional Engineer

Southwest Florida Water Management District

 (352) 269-6073 (office)

(352) 279-4493 (cell)

Mark.Fulkerson@WaterMatters.org

 Withlacoochee River Watershed Initiative