Inglis Bypass Spillway

Inglis Bypass Spillway. Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway. , Unintended Consequences , In the 1960s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers cut through and plugged the Withlacoochee River to make way for the Cross Florida Barge Canal. Blocking the river entirely would have devastated downstream ecosystems. The Corps built the Inglis Bypass Spillway to move freshwater from Lake Rousseau downstream into the lower river., The dam, spillway and lock along with infrastructure from historic phosphate mining and logging , impacted how water moved through the environment. The bypass altered freshwater flow to the river. Despite engineering efforts, operation of Inglis Lock flushed saltwater into the Lower Withlacoochee., Canal Builders Change Their Plans , In 1942, congress approved a new, shallower canal that used locks to carry barges up and over groundwater reservoirs instead of cutting directly through them. The new canal lowered the risk of saltwater seeping into drinking water supplies. But by dividing the Withlacoochee and Ocklawaha rivers, the canal had enduring impacts on water and wildlife.