Kissimmee River

Kissimmee River
A stretch of the straightened and channelized Kissimmee River in central Florida
The Kissimmee River flows south through central Florida into Lake Okeechobee.
Location
Country	United States
State	Florida
Physical characteristics
Source	East Lake Tohopekaliga
• location	Osceola County, Florida
• coordinates	27°59′25″N 81°22′44″W / 27.99028°N 81.37889°W / 27.99028; -81.37889[1]
Mouth	Lake Okeechobee
• location	Florida
• coordinates	27°8′34″N 80°51′16″W / 27.14278°N 80.85444°W / 27.14278; -80.85444[1]
Length	134 mi (216 km)
Basin size	3,000 sq mi (7,800 km2)

The Kissimmee River is a river in south-central Florida, United States that forms the north part of the Everglades wetlands area. The river begins at East Lake Tohopekaliga south of Orlando, flowing south through Lake Kissimmee into the large, shallow Lake Okeechobee. Hurricane-related floods in 1947 prompted channelization of the meandering lower stretch, completed by 1970. The straightened course reduced wetland habitat and worsened pollution. In response, efforts since the 1990s have partially restored the river's original state and revitalized the ecosystem, as part of the broader restoration of the Everglades.

Course

The Kissimmee River arises in

In protest to the canalization of the river and its resultant damage to the habitat, Florida author Piers Anthony based the plot of the tenth Xanth novel, Vale of the Vole, around the straightening of the "Kiss-Mee River," an obvious parody to "Kissimmee."

The river was mentioned in a lyric of Josh Turner's song "Alligator Stroll".

Restoration

Efforts to restore the Kissimmee River to its original flow were approved by Congress in 1992, and began with modification to the headwater lakes in 1997.^[3] The project was initially estimated to be completed by 2011,^[4] but in 2010 the United States Army Corps of Engineers stated it hoped to complete the project in 2015.^[5] Restoration was eventually completed in July 2021.^[6] In all, about 44 miles (71 km) of the Kissimmee River was restored, plus 20,000 acres of wetlands.^[7]

In 2006, the South Florida Water Management District had acquired enough land along the river and in the upper chain of lakes to complete restoration.

A 2009 report from the Corps of Engineers went into detail with the issues and plans for the Kissimmee River restoration.^[8]

The restoration project was completed on July 29, 2021. It restored 40 miles (64.3 km) of river and almost 25,000 acres of wetlands.^[9] Lake Kissimmee is expected to rise one and a half feet, restoring water sequestration functions and easing seasonal droughts.^[9]

Already, wildlife is returning to the restored sections of river. When flooding began again, muck and smothering aquatic weeds were flushed out. Sandbars reemerged. Encroaching dry land trees began dying back. Once-dormant plants began to reestablish themselves. The species included pink-tipped smartweed, horsetail, sedges, rushes, arrowhead, duck potato and pickerel weed. Flooding and continuous flow increased levels of dissolved oxygen in the water, creating near perfect conditions for aquatic invertebrates such as insects, mollusks, works, crayfish and freshwater shrimp. This, in turn, boosted fish populations and it led to a rise in bird and alligator populations. The entire food chain benefitted. This is one reason that the Kissimmee River restoration is considered to be the largest true ecosystem restoration project in the world, attracting ecologists from other states and countries.^[10]

See also

• Camp Mack's River Resort

References

External links

• Kissimmee River information from the South Florida Water Management District
• Kissimmee River Restoration Project information from the
  U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
  , Jacksonville District

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