Yes, it’s true: Part of the City of Lake Worth is within what is called the Lake Worth Drainage District (LWDD).

And find out below how the LWDD system of canals is all connected to lakes (e.g., Lake Osborne), the C-51 Canal (between the cities of Lake Worth and West Palm Beach), and the water that then flows into the Lake Worth Lagoon via the future Blueway Trail project.

To “Follow” the LWDD on Twitter use this link.
Some cities in Central PBC are entirely within the
district, but not the entire City of Lake Worth:

To view the LWDD “Conveyances Web Map” use this link: see the district boundaries and what is controlled by the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) as well.

Contrary to what many believe, there is a small area of the City of Lake Worth within the LWDD — west of I-95 along the E-4 (Keller) Canal — and one of those areas is the City’s Park of Commerce. Below you’ll see how this all relates to future projects such as the Blueway Trail.

Further north in the City (see image below) you can see where the E-4 Canal meets the C-51 Canal, which is controlled by the SFWMD. The E-4 Canal connects to Lake Osborne, goes north and intersects with the C-51. However, this area is not within the LWDD.

The thin blue line is the E-4 Canal; the thick blue line is the eastern LWDD boundary. Note these in relation to Dixie Hwy. (U.S. 1) and Federal Hwy. further east.

Water from canals such as the E-4 flows to the C-51 and then into the Intracoastal past the S-155 “Spillway” structure.

Now back to the LWDD, use this link for their website, an excerpt:


South Florida is fortunate to receive over 50 inches of rainfall a year on average. Most of that amount is concentrated during the 6-month rainy season (May–October). While much of the runoff from these rains is discharged to the ocean to avoid flooding, a significant amount soaks into the ground and recharges the freshwater aquifers that supply our drinking water wellfields, lakes and wetlands.

and. . .

Without adequate drainage, human health and safety would be jeopardized and extensive property damage could occur. Similarly, if regional groundwater levels were not properly maintained, wellfields would be unable to deliver water to homes and businesses and the underground inland migration of salt water from the ocean could permanently contaminate the drinking water supply rendering it unsafe for potable uses.


Now you get a better idea how the canal systems all work together in relation to the “Inland Chain of Lakes” and the Intracoastal (aka, the Lake Worth Lagoon) and the future Blueway Trail “Creating Access for All”:


The vision for the Chain of Lakes Blueway Trail experience is to finally link Palm Beach County waterways by providing two-way access for small boats and non-motorized watercraft between the Chain of Lakes, Lake Worth Lagoon and the Intracoastal Waterway, which is just a few hundred yards away. In Palm Beach County, 80 percent of registered small boats meet this criteria – and that doesn’t include the thousands of kayakers, paddleboarders, canoers and others who use the local waterways every year.