El Niño rains to blame for Lake Okeechobee water sent to the St. Lucie River, Stuart

Lake Okeechobee water will start pouring into the St. Lucie River on Saturday.

The discharges will continue for an unknown number of days, but the Corps will assess the lake and may lower releases by April 1, Col. James Booth said in a Feb. 16 meeting. Moving water out of Lake Okeechobee is controlled largely by the Army Corps of Engineers.