WCA - Everglades Conditions Update
(Feb. 12,
2008)
Rainfall:
Rainfall
was light over the Greater Everglades , except in WCA-1, where total rain for
the week was about 0.58” (see Raindar.gif). With an
average pan evaporation of 1.15”, this was another deficit water budget week.
Water Conservation Areas:
GOOD
dry-season recession rates dominate the entire region (see WCA_stages.xls). Water depths for
water bird foraging is GOOD in WCA-2A, northern WCA-3A and Shark River Slough.
Stages in WCA-1 remain slightly below Regulation, WCA-2A remains above
regulation, and WCA-3 stages continue to be significantly below regulation (see
WCA_reg_stages.doc).
Everglades National
Park:
ENP wetland
water levels continued to drop in response to low precipitation. Water
level at Taylor Sl. Bridge
dropped by 1.8” over the 7 d period (not an unusual decline for this area),
falling to nearly 2’ below ground surface. Shark River Sl. (station
P33) and southern Taylor Sl. (at Craighead Pond) also posted declines of nearly
1” and 0.8”, respectively. January water levels in all areas of ENP were
well below where they have been over the past 10 yrs time and, lowest over this
period of record (water year 1997 – 2007) at Taylor Slough
Bridge (TSB) & P33 in
SRS. For these northern stations (TSB & P33) January 2008 water
levels were similar to where they were in Jan. 1989, the beginning of the last
extreme drought in S. FL.
Salinity
concentrations remained stable or increased slightly in Florida Bay
last week. At the mouth of Taylor
River salinity read just
above 20 psu for much of the week. The 30d moving average concentration
(used to track the MFL criterion) is still low at 5.9 psu as of Sunday,
2/10. Whipray
Basin salinity has
started to slowly increase, up to just over 33 psu as of Sunday, 2/10. As
a whole these salinity concentrations are still near seasonal norms. The
exception to this trend is out west, in the SRS outflow at Tarpon Bay,
where salinity remains above its seasonal average, measuring near 17 psu as of
Sunday 2/10.
Wildlife:
Nothing new
to report.
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