With all the rainfall and high water,
We wanted you to have a quick update on the
Withlacoochee River Watershed!!

2021 Year

Rainfall

Rainfall is the reason water levels rise and fall; and this summer has been one of the wettest in recent years.
From June 1st through August 15th, our region has already exceeded the wet season (June – Sept) average, and we still have 6 weeks to go.
Average summer rainfall is 7-8 inches a month, but this year we’ve received more than 10 inches on average for each of the past 3 months.
Most of this rainfall has occurred along the downstream half of the Withlacoochee River.
In fact, some areas have exceeded 15 inches of rain already this month and August is only halfway over.

Little Withlacoochee River

After experiencing flood conditions in early July, water levels along the Little Withlacoochee River have receded but remain high.

This major tributary of the Withlacoochee River starts on the north side of the Green Swamp and additional rainfall there will increase river levels again this summer.

Lake Rousseau/Inglis Dam

The Inglis Main Dam, which was opened in early July to send excess water out of Lake Rousseau, remains open.

Water levels on the west end of Lake Rousseau remain about 4-6 inches lower than normal, due to high water conditions upstream near Dunnellon.

The Inglis Dam has no effect on lowering water levels farther upriver near SR 200, where the river remains in minor flood stage for now.

Tsala Apopka Chain-of-Lakes

All three pools of the Tsala Apopka Lake Chain are still very high, due to continuous rainfall this summer.

The water control structures remain open, moving water out of the lakes to help get them back down to their normal high levels.

Many low-lying areas that are not directly connected to the lake chain, have also filled up from above average rainfall.

This includes Arrowhead Estates which is currently experiencing significant flooding in many isolated low areas.

Lake Panasoffkee

Lake Panasoffkee had been slowly dropping over the past several days, until additional rainfall on Saturday increased lake levels again.

The creeks which drain lands from the east are flowing very strong into the lake right now.

Outflows from Lake Panasoffkee to the Withlacoochee River are higher than we’ve seen in several years.

The Wysong Structure, which was fully lowered more than 5 weeks ago, remains lowered.

Withlacoochee River

The upper (upstream) half of the Withlacoochee River (from the Green Swamp through Hernando County) is flowing strong but remains well below flood stage.
This is because the Green Swamp has not received as much rainfall as other downstream portions of the Withlacoochee River.
The lower (downstream) half of the Withlacoochee River, from Hwy 48 through Lake Rousseau has received much more rain.
As a result, portions of the river in this area are very high. For example, the Withlacoochee River at SR 200 is currently above minor flood stage.
From the Green Swamp downstream past SR 200, there are no structures that can be opened to help lower river levels.
River conditions are naturally high right now, due to above average rainfall and are expected to remain high throughout the remainder of our wet season.