Estuarine Conditions as of Feb 19, 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)

9.7 (12.9)

12.7 (15.6)

 

HR1 (N. Fork)

 16.9 (16.4)

18.2 (18.7)

 

Roosevelt Bridge

 21.2 (22.0)

22.0 (22.5)

8.0 – 25.0

A1A Bridge

 27.6 (28.0)

28.7 (28.9)

20.0 – 31.0

 

Average salinity decreased by several ppt at the Palm City Bridge during the past week but fell only slightly (< 1.0 ppt) at most other sites. 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 21.2 ppt at the Roosevelt Bridge is 6.8 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:

Owing to local rainfall, discharge at S-79 occurred from Feb 15 to Feb 18 and averaged 150 cfs for the week.   The concentration of chlorides at the Olga Plant is 180 mg/l.  In general, average salinity declined over the past week, with the largest changes 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)

 16.7 (17.6)

 16.5 (17.7)

Rt. 31 Bridge

16.8 (18.1)

19.0 (19.8 )

I-75 Bridge

NA (NA)

 20.2 (21.2)

Ft. Myers Yacht Basin

 23.6 (23.9)

 23.8 (23.8)

Cape Coral Bridge

 26.9 (27.1)

 30.7 (30.8)

Shell Point

34.2 (34.3)

 35.5 (35.4)

 

Salinity at the Ft. Myers surface sensor remains above the 1-day MFL criterion of 20 ppt. The current surface salinity of 16.7 ppt at S-79 is 3.3 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.  Conditions in the upper estuary east of Ft. Myers are poor due to high salinity.  Based on the salinity tolerances of oysters 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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