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Water managers lowering lake levels
By ALEX LEARY, Times Staff Writer
With signs of flooding along the Withlacoochee River and predictions of more rain in the next few days, Swiftmud has begun draining water from the Tsala Apopka lake chain to create more storage space. The Southwest Florida Water Management District announced Thursday that it is releasing water from the Hernando Pool through two areas: the Van Ness structure, which drains into state owned land, and the Tsala Apopka Outfall Canal, which empties into the Withlacoochee. "We need to create some storage space in the lakes to avoid flooding around them," Gary Khul, Swiftmud's operations director, said in a news release. "But we have to move the water before the river rises too high. If the river rises to a level higher than the lakes, then we won't be able to discharge into the river." The decision, however, was met with alarm by some homeowners in the Arrowhead section of Hernando, who say the opening of the outfall canal has caused the Withlacoochee to rise even higher. "We knew when we moved out here we had to fight the elements," said Ron Medlock, whose home was badly damaged in a December 1997 flood that stranded dozens of families for weeks. "But we can't fight them turning the dam loose." Medlock said the water behind his home has risen steadily in the past few days. Some residents spent Thursday putting sandbags around their homes and well heads. The lake chain consists of three large pools, beginning with the Floral City Pool. The Hernando Pool is the northernmost, and the Inverness Pool lies in the middle. The Withlacoochee River feeds all three. On Thursday, Swiftmud said, the Hernando Pool sat at 38.8 feet, about 11/2 feet below the lowest slab of a home along the lake. Under an agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the district is required to release water through the canal when the level reaches 39 feet. Swiftmud spokesman Mike Molligan said the decision was made to release the water out of concern that anticipated rain would send a "slug" down the Withlacoochee and cut off the option. "When the river level gets too high, it won't accept any more," Molligan said. Medlock and other Arrowhead residents blame Swiftmud for exacerbating the 1997 flood. They were outraged to discover the outfall canal had been lifted earlier this week. Allowing more water into the river creates a bottleneck near the State Road 200 bridge and the river begins to back up, Medlock said. Arrowhead residents called a meeting Thursday evening to discuss the problem. Despite the emotion, Swiftmud says the canal is not the problem. "The amount of water coming out is such a small percentage point of the overall flow of the river," Molligan said. The real problem, he said, is that some older homes in the area were built too low.
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