Estuarine Conditions as of March 18, 2008

 

St. Lucie Estuary

 

Current Conditions:

There were no releases through S-80 over the past week.  A discharge of 46.86 cfs occurred at S-97 on the C-23 Canal and there were no discharges 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)

   9.02 (10.30)

10.88 (11.71)

 

HR1 (N. Fork)

 12.53 (15.58)

15.42 (16.76)

 

Roosevelt Bridge

 16.57 (18.42)

17.44 (18.62)

8.0 – 25.0

A1A Bridge

 25.33 (26.30)

27.89 (28.11)

20.0 – 31.0

 

Average salinity decreased during the past week 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 16.57 ppt at the Roosevelt Bridge is 11.43 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 over the past week averaged 110.29, an increase from the previous week with 58.57 cfs.  The concentration of chlorides at the Olga Plant is 242 mg/l.  Average salinity decreased by 4 ppt on the surface at Franklin Locks with a gradual decrease at all sites moving down the estuary. 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)

 12.69 (16.68)

 13.31 (16.64)

Rt. 31 Bridge

14.27 (16.86)

16.32 (17.73)

I-75 Bridge

 15.91  (NA)

 18.65 (19.86)

Ft. Myers Yacht Basin

 23.59 (23.11)

 23.81 (23.15)

Cape Coral Bridge

 28.20 (30.53)

 30.52 (31.07)

Shell Point

34.73 (34.86)

 35.67 (36.22)

 

Salinity at the Ft. Myers surface sensor remains above the 1-day MFL criterion of 20 ppt. The current surface salinity of 12.69 ppt at S-79 is 7.31 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 Monroe counties.  Additional samples collected offshore of the Florida Keys also contained no K. brevis. 

 

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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