Estuarine Conditions as of Feb 26, 2008

 

St. Lucie Estuary

 

Current Conditions:

There were no releases through S-80 over the past week.  No discharge occurred at S-97 on the C-23 Canal or at S-49 on the C-24 canal.  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

Palm City Bridge (S. Fork)

10.6 (9.7)

13.1 (12.7)

 

HR1 (N. Fork)

 15.9 (16.9)

18.2 (18.2)

 

Roosevelt Bridge

 21.3 (21.2)

21.7 (22.0)

8.0 – 25.0

A1A Bridge

 27.1 (27.6)

28.5 (28.7)

20.0 – 31.0

 

Average salinity changed very little (< 1.0 ppt) throughout the estuary. Both the surface and bottom salinity are in the preferred range at the Roosevelt Bridge, and at the A1A Bridge. Based on the salinity tolerances of the oyster, Crassostrea virginica, salinity conditions in the estuary are good.  The current surface salinity of 21.3 ppt at the Roosevelt Bridge is 6.7 ppt below the maximum weekly average of 28.0 ppt achieved in May 2001 during the 2000 – 2001 drought (see attached).

 

 

Caloosahatchee Estuary

                                                         

Current Conditions:

Discharge at S-79 averaged 55 cfs for the week, down from previous week’s 150 cfs.   The 30-day average is 78 cfs. Freshwater flow back into the Lake from C-43, through S-77, averaged 156 cfs during the last week. The concentration of chlorides at the Olga Plant were stable during the last week , with 171 mg/l reported last Sunday.  In general, average salinity declined over the past week, most notably at Ft. Myers and upstream, with the largest change of about 2.0 ppt occurring near S-79 where discharges occurred. 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

Franklin Locks (S-79)

 14.2 (16.7)

 14.5 (16.5)

Rt. 31 Bridge

15.1 (16.8)

17.1 (19.0 )

I-75 Bridge

NA (NA)

 18.6 (20.2)

Ft. Myers Yacht Basin

 22.5 (23.6)

 22.5 (23.8)

Cape Coral Bridge

 27.1 (26.9)

 30.4 (30.7)

Shell Point

34.2 (34.2)

 35.6 (35.5)

 

Salinity at the Ft. Myers surface sensor remains above the 1-day MFL maximum criterion of 20 ppt. The current surface salinity of 14.2 ppt at S-79 is 5.8 ppt below the maximum weekly average of 20.0 ppt achieved in May 2001 during the 2000 – 2001 drought.  Salinity at the Cape Coral Bridge is near (surface) or above (bottom) the upper limit of the optimal range for the oyster, Crassostrea virginica.  However, salinity for seagrass in the area downstream of Cape Coral sensor is good.

 

In summary, conditions in the upper estuary east of Ft. Myers are poor due to high salinity.  Based on the tolerances of oysters, salinity conditions downstream of Cape Coral are fair (see attached). 

 

 

FWRI reports that no Karenia brevis, the Florida red tide organism, was detected this week in water samples collected alongshore between Pinellas and Collier counties. 

 

 

 

To find this information on the web:

https://my.sfwmd.gov/portal/page?_pageid=1314,2554645,1314_19738269:1314_19738234&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL

·        click on “Current Week”

·        click on “Technical Summary”

·        scroll to the bottom and click on “Coastal Ecosystems”

 

 

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