Weekly Estuarine Conditions Update

As of April 13, 2009

 

St. Lucie Estuary

 

Current Conditions:

Over the past week, no flow was discharged at S-80. Discharge from the Lake at S-308 averaged 214 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)

 20.7 (20.3)

 21.1 (21.3)

 

HR1 (N. Fork)

 23.8 (23.2)

 24.6 (23.9)

 

Roosevelt Bridge

 26.2 (25.8)

 26.5 (26.1)

  8.0 – 25.0

A1A Bridge

 30.4 (30.3)

 32.1 (31.7)

20.0 – 31.0

  

Salinity throughout the estuary remained about the same with 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 578 cfs at S-79, 493 cfs at S-78, and 903 cfs at S-77.  The concentration of chlorides at the Olga Plant was 120 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 (5.5)

  6.4 (6.2)

Rt. 31 Bridge

    7.6 (7.5)

  9.0 (9.0)

I-75 Bridge

    9.7 (9.4)

11.4 (13.0)

Ft. Myers Yacht Basin

  17.8 (18.6)

18.6 (19.0)

Cape Coral Bridge

  25.9 (26.3)

26.9 (27.0)

Shell Point

  34.2 (34.3)

35.2 (35.2)

 

A 7-day pulse release at S-79 began on Saturday, 4/11/09.  Average salinity remained about the same for most part of the estuary except for a slight decrease between Fort Myers Yacht Basin and Cape Coral Bridge.  Conditions in the upper estuary east of Ft. Myers are poor (30 day average at Ft. Myers = 18.1 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 chlorophyll at Ft. Myers  and Shell Point ranged from 1 to 7 mg/L (dissolved oxygen  was unavailable) (www.recon.sccf.org).

 

https://my.sfwmd.gov/portal/page?_pageid=1314,2554645,1314_19738269:1314_19738234&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL

  

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