On June 13, the Jacksonville District of the Corps of Engineers crossed the next milestone to make Portugues Dam operational by receiving approval of the Water Control Manual, which allows initial filling operations to begin. The initial filling will take place in multiple stages. Water managers will allow runoff from rainfall to collect in the reservoir, pausing at predetermined elevations to ensure the dam is performing as designed. After the dam is checked at each level, more water will be collected in the reservoir until the dam passes its checks at an elevation of 439.8 feet, the top of the conservation pool and the maximum desired elevation.