Estuarine Conditions as of April 8, 2008

 

St. Lucie Estuary

 

Current Conditions:

There were no releases through S-80 over the past week.  A discharge of 1.26 cfs occurred at S-49 on the C-24 canal and there were no discharges at S-97 on the C-23 canal.  The current weekly average salinities (in bold) at the four monitoring sites in the St. Lucie Estuary are given below in parts per thousand (ppt).  Current weekly averages may be compared with the previous week’s data (in parenthesis).

 

 

Weekly Average Salinity (ppt)

 

Sampling Site

Surface

Bottom

Envelope

Palm City Bridge (S. Fork)

 11.55 ( 11.77)

12.64 (12.99)

 

HR1 (N. Fork)

12.09 (15.77)

 13.45 (NR)

 

Roosevelt Bridge

 16.22 (17.87)

16.98 (18.55)

8.0 – 25.0

A1A Bridge

 25.35 (26.93)

27.56 (29.10)

20.0 – 31.0

 

In general, 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 16.22 ppt at the Roosevelt Bridge is 11.78 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:

Weekly average discharge of 197 cfs occurred at S-79 last week.  Discharge from S-77 into Lake Okeechobee averaged 77.71 cfs.  The concentration of chlorides at the Olga Plant is 163 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)

 14.45 (15.05)

14.50 (16.12)

Rt. 31 Bridge

15.06 (14.19)

16.15 (18.87)

I-75 Bridge

 NA (14.71)

 20.17 (19.52)

Ft. Myers Yacht Basin

23.19  (21.67)

 23.32 (23.94)

Cape Coral Bridge

28.06  (27.65)

28.77 (29.00)

Shell Point

34.33 (33.97)

 35.22 (34.93)

 

Compared with last week, average surface salinities decreased only at S79.  Average bottom salinities decreased for most sites in the estuary.  Salinity at the Ft. Myers surface sensor remains above the 1-day MFL criterion of 20 ppt.  The current surface salinity of 14.45 ppt at S-79 is 5.55 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 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 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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