Drawdowns are conducted every three to four years on the reservoir for aquatic plant control and fish and wildlife habitat enhancement. Submersed vegetation (hydrilla, coontail and eel grass) is common in the pool section of the reservoir. The discontinued Barge Canal and the existing river channel have water depths up to 30 feet (9 m) deep.

The pool section from Orange Springs to Kirkpatrick Dam, including the river channel and the extant Cross Florida Barge Canal, consists of floating and submersed vegetation, dead standing timber and submersed and partially submersed trees and stumps. The transition section from Paynes Landing to Orange Springs consists of flooded standing timber and areas of floating vegetation. The reservoir from its headwaters at Eureka Dam to Paynes Landing consists of flooded woodlands. Carr worked until her death in 1997 to preserve and restore the Ocklawaha River.Ī four-gate spillway (Kirkpatrick Dam) controls the water levels of the reservoir. However, in 1971, due to the successful efforts of environmentalist Marjorie Harris Carr and Florida Defenders of the Environment (FDE), President Richard Nixon halted construction of the canal. The earthen dam and reservoir were the first of a set of two dams and reservoirs that the Corps planned to build along the Ocklawaha River to facilitate navigation along the Cross Florida Barge Canal. Upon closing Rodman Dam and flooding the reservoir in 1968, the crushed trees floated up to the top of the reservoir. Army Corps of Engineers created the reservoir, they used a mammoth machine called the crusher-crawler to clear sections of the forest along the Ocklawaha's wooded riverbanks. It is also a premier largemouth bass fishery for Northeast Florida. The reservoir, located about 15 miles southwest of Palatka, is approximately 15 miles (24 km) in length, covers 13,000 acres (5,300 ha) and is located between State Road 19 on the east and State Road 315 on the west. Rodman Reservoir, or Lake Ocklawaha, is an artificial reservoir located on the Ocklawaha River in Putnam County and Marion County in north central Florida. The Ocala community and to get updates on current and future plans and Please plan on attending future FSSSP meetings for more interesting presentations on topics of interest to all of us in She has won many awards for her advocacy, including the Conservationist of the Year by the Santa Fe Audubon Society.

She currently serves on the Board of the Silver Springs Alliance and the Executive Committee of the Florida Defenders of the Environment. Karen is the owner of North Star Charters and tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of the Ocklawaha River. Using film and a series of before and after photos, Karen Chadwick focused on the historical significance of the River as well as the increased tourism and other commercial, recreational and environmental benefits of removing the Rodman Dam to restore the 13,000 acres of floodplain within the Florida Wildlife Corridor. The drawdown began in early October. Water levels reached the lowest point Mid-November and will be maintained at that level until March 1, 2020. During the drawdown, the “lost springs” and many more ecological and historical fascinations reemerge.

The reservoir behind the dam is drawn down by the State every 3 to 5 years to remove invasive plants that flourish and choke the waterways. Its floodplain flooded with a loss for wildlife habitat and thousands of acres of forests killed. The dam bars upstream access for migratory species like the striped bass and manatee. The project was halted in 1971 but not before the Rodman (now the Kirkpatric) Dam was built across the Ocklawaha, flooding 9,000 acres and 16 miles of wetland forest creating the Rodman Pool. Environmental activists led by Marjorie Harris Carr (and now her granddaughter) opposed the construction. Since 1968 the flow of the Ocklawaha River has been blocked when it became the target of a massive engineering project called the Cross Florida Barge Canal. A lot of Friends attended the meeting and listened to our guest speaker Karen Chadwick who told us about the drawdown of the Rodman Reservoir. Our first membership meeting of 2020 was a full success.

Rodman reservoir drawdown schedule 2020