Washington Takes Another Look at the St. Lucie River

September 23, 1941 — A federal engineering report reaches Congress.

By Wm. E. McMullen II

On September 23, 1941, a federal engineering report concerning the St. Lucie River was formally transmitted to Congress.

The Library of Congress preserves House Document 77-391, titled St. Lucie River, Fla. It transmitted a July 1 report from the Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army, with accompanying papers and an illustration.

A River Being Reengineered

The natural St. Lucie River drained its own watershed toward the Atlantic. Canal construction created an artificial connection westward toward Lake Okeechobee, fundamentally changing the movement of water across the region.

Florida Memory records that the Everglades Drainage District, established in 1913, constructed canals, drains, levees, dikes, dams, locks and reservoirs for drainage and reclamation. Navigation was another important objective.

Why It Still Matters

The engineering decisions of the early twentieth century continue to shape debates about freshwater discharges, the St. Lucie Estuary, Lake Okeechobee management and Everglades restoration.

September 23, 1941 is a documentary marker in a much longer story: Florida's attempt to manage water on a landscape where water rarely follows political boundaries.

Sources for Additional Reading

• Library of Congress — St. Lucie River, Fla., House Document 77-391
• Florida Memory — St. Lucie Canal Lock No. 2, MSC5826