Weekly Estuarine Conditions Update

As of April 20, 2009

 

St. Lucie Estuary

 

Current Conditions:

Over the past week, no discharge occurred at S-80. Discharge from the Lake at S-308 averaged 250 cfs.  Provisional data indicates that no discharge occurred at S-97 on C-23 and S-49 on C-24.  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)

 20.5 (20.7)

 21.5 (21.1)

 

HR1 (N. Fork)

 24.8 (23.8)

 25.7 (24.6)

 

Roosevelt Bridge

 27.3 (26.2)

 27.5 (26.5)

  8.0 – 25.0

A1A Bridge

 31.6 (30.4)

 33.4 (32.1)

20.0 – 31.0

  

Salinity throughout the estuary increased slightly last week.  At both the Roosevelt and A1A Bridges, weekly average salinity is slightly above the upper bound of the preferred range.  Salinity conditions in the estuary are considered to be fair considering the time of year, the location in the estuary, and salinity preference of the oyster, Crassostrea virginica.

 

 

Caloosahatchee Estuary

                                                         

Current Conditions:

During the past week, discharge averaged 324 cfs at S-79, 277 cfs at S-78, and 703 cfs at S-77.  The concentration of chlorides at the Olga Plant was 129 ppm yesterday.  The current weekly average salinities (in bold) at the six monitoring sites in the Caloosahatchee Estuary are given below in parts per thousand (ppt), along with the previous week’s (in parenthesis). 

 

 Weekly Average Salinity (ppt)

Sampling Site

Surface

Bottom

Franklin Locks (S-79)

    5.3 (5.5)

  6.4 (6.4)

Rt. 31 Bridge

    5.3 (7.6)

  7.0 (9.0)

I-75 Bridge

    6.0 (9.7)

  9.6 (11.4)

Ft. Myers Yacht Basin

  14.8 (17.8)

18.5 (18.6)

Cape Coral Bridge

  24.7 (25.9)

25.2 (26.9)

Shell Point

  34.1 (34.2)

34.5 (35.2)

 

The 7 day pulse release at S-79 ended on Friday, 4/17/09.  Average salinity decreased slightly throughout the estuary.  Conditions in the upper estuary east of Ft. Myers are poor (30 day average at Ft. Myers = 17.9 ppt). Salinities at the Cape Coral Bridge are within the preferred range for the oyster, Crassostrea virginica, and well within the range tolerated by seagrass, Halodule wrightii.  Therefore, conditions in the lower estuary are good.  Salinity at Shell Point indicates that conditions are good in San Carlos Bay.

 

FWRI (Fish and Wildlife Research Institute) reports that water samples collected alongshore between Pinellas and Sarasota counties contained no K. brevis.  Counts from samples collected alongshore of Lee County ranged from not present to present (www.floridamarine.org).  Monitoring data collected by the River, Estuary and Coastal Observing Network (RECON) of Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) indicated DO concentration at Ft. Myers and Shell Point ranged from 4.8 to 7.9 mg/L and chlorophyll at Ft. Myers  and Shell Point ranged from 1.1 to 7.6 mg/L.  (www.recon.sccf.org).

 

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