Kissimmee Watershed Environmental Conditions – 04/22/08

 

·        Over the last seven days, the upper Kissimmee Basin received 0.03 inches of rainfall to bring the 30 day total to 3.75 inches (142% of average), and the lower basin received 0.01 inches to bring the 30 day total to 4.10 inches (170% of average) (Daily Rainfall Report 4/21/08).

·        In the upper basin, water levels are falling in most of the smaller lakes without having to make releases for the spring recession.  Releases are being made from East Lake Tohopekaliga (S-59) of 100 cfs, from Lake Tohopekaliga (S-61) of 400 cfs, and from Lake Kissimmee (S-65) of 1100 cfs.  No other releases are being made in the upper basin. 

·        Hydrilla treatment continued in Lake Cypress last week.  For the first week of treatment, inflow from Lake Tohopekaliga and Lake Gentry was restricted.  Hydrilla treatment will continue.     

·        The vegetation removal project is continuing in Lake Gentry.  The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission anticipates completing the project by the end of this week.    

·        In the upper basin, snail kites continue to nest on East Lake Toho, Lake Toho, and Lake Kissimmee

·        A whooping crane continues to nest on Lake Kissimmee.

·        The discharge from Lake Kissimmee (S-65) was decreased from 1500 cfs to 1100 cfs to slow the water level recession to more closely track the environmental recession line for snail kites and wading birds.  

·        Flow has been reestablished to the Kissimmee River for 272 days (S-65 re-opened on 07/18/07).

·        The inflow from the upper basin continues to inundate a portion of the floodplain in the Phase I area of the Kissimmee River Restoration Project. 

·        Dissolved oxygen concentrations in the river channel of the Kissimmee River ranged from 2.1 mg/L to 8.4 mg/L with an average of 3.9 mg/L, which is a slight increase over last week’s report. 

·        Aerial surveys (April 10) found low numbers of wading birds within the restored section (ca. 13 birds/km2), while three large flocks of Glossy and White (mostly white) ibis were feeding in Pool D in isolated depressional wetlands that had been reflooded after the prior week’s rain event, making the density in that pool ca. 61 birds/km2.

·        Ground surveys found over 1,500 migratory shorebirds (mostly Dowitcher sp. and Lesser and Greater yellowlegs) foraging over backfill and scraped areas in Phase IVa last week.

 


 

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