Estuarine Conditions as of March 11, 2008

 

St. Lucie Estuary

 

Current Conditions:

There were no releases through S-80 over the past week.  Discharge at S-97 on the C-23 Canal averaged 25.79 cfs and S-49 on the C-24 canal 0.06 cfs 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)

   10.30 (13.11)

 11.71 (14.36)

 

HR1 (N. Fork)

  15.58 (16.85)

 16.76 (18.51)

 

Roosevelt Bridge

  18.42 (20.35)

18.62 (20.78)

8.0 – 25.0

A1A Bridge

 26.30 (27.86)

28.11 (29.23)

20.0 – 31.0

 

Average salinity decreased 1 to 3 ppt throughout the estuary due to local rainfall. 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 18.42 ppt at the Roosevelt Bridge is 9.58 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 58.57, an increase from the previous week with no releases.   The 30-day average is 61 cfs.  Freshwater flow back into the Lake from C-43, through S-77, averaged 18.86 cfs during the last week. The concentration of chlorides at the Olga Plant were stable during the last week , with 228 mg/l reported yesterday.  Average salinity increased by 1 to 2 ppt throughout 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)

 16.68 (14.46)

 16.64 (15.26)

Rt. 31 Bridge

 16.86 (14.36)

  17.73 (16.81 )

I-75 Bridge

NA (NA)

 19.86 (17.78)

Ft. Myers Yacht Basin

  23.11 (21.97)

 23.15 (22.37)

Cape Coral Bridge

 30.53 (27.46)

 31.07 (30.21)

Shell Point

34.86 (34.15)

 36.22 (35.34)

 

Salinity at the Ft. Myers surface sensor remains above the 1-day MFL maximum criterion of 20 ppt. The current surface salinity of 16.68 ppt at S-79 is 3.32 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 above 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 poor (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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