Estuarine Conditions as of April 15, 2008

 

St. Lucie Estuary

 

Current Conditions:

There were no releases through S-80 over the past week.  Discharge of 102.78 cfs occurred at S-97 on the C-23 canal and discharge at S-49 on the C-24 canal was unavailable this week.  The current weekly average salinities at the four monitoring sites in the St. Lucie 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

Envelope

Palm City Bridge (S. Fork)

 10.13 ( 11.55)

10.41 (12.64)

 

HR1 (N. Fork)

  9.19 (12.09)

 13.40(13.45)

 

Roosevelt Bridge

 13.08 (16.22)

15.03 (16.98)

8.0 – 25.0

A1A Bridge

 23.60 (25.35)

27.52 (27.56)

20.0 – 31.0

 

During the past week, average salinity decreased about 1-2 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 13 ppt at the Roosevelt Bridge is 15 ppt below the maximum weekly average of 28 ppt achieved in May 2001 during the 2000 – 2001 drought (see attached).

 

 

Caloosahatchee Estuary

                                                         

Current Conditions:

Discharge of 364 cfs occurred at S-79 last week.  Discharge from S-77 into Lake Okeechobee averaged 393 cfs last week.  The concentration of chlorides at the Olga Plant is 155 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)

  9.03 (14.45)

 9.60 (14.50)

Rt. 31 Bridge

 9.39 (15.06)

9.58(16.15)

I-75 Bridge

   NA (NA)

 16.04 (20.17)

Ft. Myers Yacht Basin

19.95 (23.19)

 21.16 (23.32)

Cape Coral Bridge

26.87  (28.06)

27.74 (28.77)

Shell Point

33.44 (34.33)

 34.25 (35.22)

 

Average salinities decreased ~ 5 ppt in the upper estuary and 1 to 2 ppt in the lower estuary.  Salinity at the Ft. Myers surface sensor fell just below the 1-day MFL criterion of 20 ppt.  The current surface salinity of 9 ppt at S-79 is 11 ppt below the maximum weekly average of 20 ppt achieved in May 2001 during the 2000 – 2001 drought.  Salinity at the Cape Coral Bridge is near 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.  Conditions downstream of Cape Coral are fair considering the salinity tolerances of oysters (see attached).  

 

FWRI reports that a bloom of the marine cyanobacteria Trichodsmium was reported in the Pine Island Sound area of Lee County, however no impacts have been reported.   Very low concentrations of Karenia brevis, the Florida red tide organism, were detected this week alongshore of Sarasota County and southern Collier County.

 

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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