Estuarine Conditions as of March 25, 2008

 

St. Lucie Estuary

 

Current Conditions:

There were no releases through S-80, S-97 (on the C-23 Canal), or S-49 (on the C-24 canal) over the past week.  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)

11.75 ( 9.02)

13.11 (10.88)

 

HR1 (N. Fork)

 14.52 (12.53)

16.24 (15.42)

 

Roosevelt Bridge

 18.06 (16.57)

19.06 (17.44)

8.0 – 25.0

A1A Bridge

 27.51 (25.33)

29.35 (27.89)

20.0 – 31.0

 

Average salinity increased about 2 ppt 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 18.06 ppt at the Roosevelt Bridge is 9.94 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:

No discharge occurred at S-79 last week.  The concentration of chlorides at the Olga Plant is 240 mg/l.  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)

 16.06 (12.69)

 16.07 (13.31)

Rt. 31 Bridge

15.01 (14.27)

18.40 (16.32)

I-75 Bridge

 15.70  (15.91)

 18.70 (18.65)

Ft. Myers Yacht Basin

 23.52 (23.59)

 23.67 (23.81)

Cape Coral Bridge

 29.03 (28.20)

 30.08 (30.52)

Shell Point

34.73 (34.73)

 35.57 (35.67)

 

Compared with last week, average salinity increased by about 3 ppt at Franklin Locks and 1-2 ppt at Bridge 31. Average salinity in the rest of the estuary remained about the same with last week.  Salinity at the Ft. Myers surface sensor remains above the 1-day MFL criterion of 20 ppt.  The current surface salinity of 16.06 ppt at S-79 is 3.94 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 slightly above the upper limit of the optimal range for the oyster, Crassostrea virginica

 

In summary, conditions in the upper estuary east of Ft. Myers are still poor due to high salinity.  Conditions downstream of Cape Coral are fair for oysters and good for seagrasses (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. 

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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