Estuarine Conditions as of January 15,
2008
St. Lucie Estuary
Current Conditions:
There were no releases
through S-80 over the past week. Discharge at S-97 on the C-24 Canal and
at S-49 on the C-23 canal averaged < 1.0 cfs. The current weekly
average salinities (in bold) at the four monitoring sites in the St. Lucie are
given below in parts per thousand (ppt), along with the previous week’s (in
parenthesis).
|
Weekly Average Salinity
(ppt) |
|
|
Sampling Site |
Surface |
Bottom |
Envelope |
|
9.4 (9.3) |
12.3
(11.2) |
|
HR1 (N. Fork) |
13.2
(13.3) |
15.5
(15.7) |
|
|
16.6
(16.5) |
16.7
(17.1) |
8.0 – 25.0 |
A1A Bridge |
24.2
(24.5) |
26.7
(27.3) |
20.0 – 31.0 |
Average salinity changed only
slightly during the past week. Both the surface and bottom salinity are in the
preferred range at the
FWRI
reports that in Indian
River and St. Lucie counties, samples collected within the Indian River Lagoon
contained concentrations of Karenia brevis, the Florida red tide
organism, ranging from not present to very low.
Caloosahatchee Estuary
Current Conditions:
No discharge occurred at S-79
last week. The concentration of chlorides at the Olga Plant is 167
mg/l. Average salinity increased over the past week. Weekly average
salinities for specific sites are given below in parts per thousand
(ppt). Current weekly averages (in bold) may be compared to last week’s
data (in parenthesis).
|
Weekly Average Salinity
(ppt) |
|
Sampling Site |
Surface |
Bottom |
|
18.7
(14.8) |
18.7
(15.5) |
Rt. 31 Bridge |
17.4
(14.4) |
19.1
(15.5) |
I-75 Bridge |
NA (14.6) |
21.8
(18.3) |
|
23.0
(20.1) |
24.0
(21.0) |
|
25.7
(26.9) |
29.0
(27.9) |
Shell Point |
33.7 (NA) |
35.5 (NA) |
Conditions in the upper
estuary are poor due to high salinity. The current salinity of 18.7 ppt at
S-79 is 2.6 ppt below the maximum weekly average of 21.0 ppt recorded in May
2001. Salinity at the
FWRI
reports that water
samples collected alongshore this week between Pinellas and Monroe counties
contained no Karenia brevis, the
To find this information on the web:
·
click on “Current
Week”
·
click on
“Technical Summary”
·
scroll to the
bottom and click on “Coastal Ecosystems”