Our thanks to the Northwest Florida Water Management District for providing the images
and data presented on this page.
NATURAL DRYDOWN
Lake Jackson is a shallow, natural waterbody of approximately 4.000 acres, surrounded by a
27,000 acre closed drainage basin. Except for extreme high water, there are no streams or
outlets leaving the lake. The water that enters the lake through direct rainfall and
stormwater runoff usually leaves the lake through evaporation, leakage through sinkholes or
seepage through sediment in the lake bottom. These conditions cause the surface level of the
lake to fluctuate in direct response to rainfall patterns.
Lake Jackson has had a number of drydown events over the past century. Reports of drydown or
extremely low water have been documented for 1907, 1909, 1932, 1935,1936, 1937,1957,1982 and
1999. These natural events are often frustrating to lake users and lakefront landowners, but
they are quite beneficial to the long term ecology of the lake. Lake Jacksons ecosystem is
well adapted to fluctuating water conditions, and the fluctuations and drydowns help maintain
the diversity of wildlife habitat and improve water quality.
See Lake Historic Water Levels
RESTORATION
In the Spring of 1999, it became apparent that there might be an opportunity to perform
restoration activity. Since the timing and length of the drydown could note be predicted,
it was necessary to have plans in place to initiate the work and accomplish as much as
possible in a short period of time.
Restoration work started in the shallow portions of Fords and Meginnis Arm, which are
shallower and became dry earlier. The first phase removed some 400,000 cubic yards of muck
from about 140 acres of lake bottom. During the second phase, more than 1.6 million cubic
yards of muck were removed from another 460 acres of lake bottom.