The Southwest Florida Water Management District is monitoring and preparing for the possible landfall of Tropical Storm Fay in Florida.
The District has initiated Level 2 activation of its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Brooksville. Level 2 activation is required when a situation develops where the District may be adversely affected. Under Level 2 activation, the District’s Emergency Response Team reports to the EOC during extended business hours and assumes partial activation while other District functions remain under normal operating conditions.
The EOC is activated and staffed during emergency conditions to monitor water levels, operate water control structures, direct external crews, and provide up-to-the minute information to state and local government emergency groups, the media and the general public. The District’s automated monitoring system feeds continuous data regarding water levels and rainfall. The EOC is manned by operations staff, along with engineers, hydrologists and communications personnel.
The District monitors and operates 81 water control structures on lakes and rivers throughout the 16-county area. Due to the more than two years of drought conditions, water bodies in the District are expected to have sufficient storage to handle excess flood waters from a tropical storm or hurricane.
All District offices remain open at this time and a decision will be made this afternoon whether to close any offices tomorrow. However, the District’s Land Resources Department has temporary closed all District-managed recreation areas, including campgrounds and trails.