Herbert Hoover Dike

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Herbert Hoover Dike is a dike around the waters of Lake Okeechobee in Florida.

Over the years the quality of the flood control around the lake has grown. In the 1910s, a small earthen dike was constructed. This containment was breached by the storm surge from the Great Miami Hurricane in 1926 and the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane, killing thousands. In the 1930s, a larger system of levees was built around the lake. Following heavy precipitation and flooding from two hurricanes in 1947, the dike was again expanded in the 1960s to create the current Herbert Hoover Dike. The cost of construction was about $165 million (USD). The dike is now about 30 feet (9 meters) high on average. This should be sufficient to protect against future storm surges or flooding; however, there are some concerns that the dike is falling into disrepair.