Weekly Estuarine Conditions Update - As of April 06, 2009

 

St. Lucie Estuary

 

Current Conditions:

Over the past week discharge averaged 0 cfs at S-80. Discharge from the Lake at S-308 averaged 86 cfs.  Provisional data indicates that a discharge of 0.04 cfs occurred at S-97 on C-23 and 20 cfs at 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)

 20.3 (20.4)

 21.3 (21.4)

 

HR1 (N. Fork)

 23.2 (24.1)

 23.9 (24.3)

 

Roosevelt Bridge

 25.8 (25.9)

 26.1 (26.2)

  8.0 – 25.0

A1A Bridge

 30.3 (31.1)

 31.7 (32.5)

20.0 – 31.0

  

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

 

 

Caloosahatchee Estuary

                                                         

Current Conditions:

During the last week, discharge averaged 251 cfs at S-79, 300 cfs at S-78, and 578 cfs at S-77.  The concentration of chlorides at the Olga Plant was 145 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)

    5.5 (10.3)

  6.2 (11.2)

Rt. 31 Bridge

    7.5 (12.0)

  9.0 (13.0)

I-75 Bridge

    9.4 (13.6)

13.0 (15.4)

Ft. Myers Yacht Basin

  18.6 (20.0)

19.0 (20.0)

Cape Coral Bridge

  26.3 (27.0)

27.0 (27.6)

Shell Point

  34.3 (34.0)

35.2 (35.8)

 

A 7-day pulse release at S-79 ended on Saturday, 4/4/09.  While average salinity declined throughout most of the estuary, the greatest decreases occurred in the narrow head waters of the estuary between I-75 and S-79.  Conditions in the upper estuary east of Ft. Myers are poor (30 day average at Ft. Myers = 17.1 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 Monroe counties contained no K. brevis. (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 (Shell Point  was unavailable) ranged from 5.3 to 9.9 mg/L (www.recon.sccf.org).

 

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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