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
|
Weekly Average Salinity (ppt) |
|
|
Sampling Site |
Surface |
Bottom |
Envelope |
|
20.3 (20.4) |
21.3 (21.4) |
|
HR1 (N. Fork) |
23.2 (24.1) |
|
|
|
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 |
|
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) |
|
18.6 (20.0) |
19.0 (20.0) |
|
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
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).
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