Estuarine Conditions as of May 27, 2008

 

St. Lucie Estuary

 

Current Conditions:

There were no releases through S-80 from C-44 and S-48 from C-23 over the past week.  The flow values from S-49 from C-24 were unavailable.  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)

 18.89 (19.24)

20.14 (20.81)

 

HR1 (N. Fork)

  21.67 (20.62)

 22.90 (22.85)

 

Roosevelt Bridge

NR (22.95)

NR (24.22)

8.0 – 25.0

A1A Bridge

 29.49 (30.30)

30.42 (31.83)

20.0 – 31.0

 

 

Average salinity increased slightly at HR1 and decreased slightly at Palm City Bridge and A1A Bridge.  Salinity values were unavailable at Roosevelt Bridge all week.  However, it can be reasonably assumed that average salinity at Roosevelt Bridge, like the other stations, did not change much over the last week.  The salinities at A1A Bridge are just within the upper limit of the preferred range.  Salinity conditions in the estuary are considered fair, based on the salinity preference of the oyster, Crassostrea virginica, at Roosevelt Bridge.  The current surface salinity at Roosevelt Bridge is unavailable but should still be below the maximum weekly average of 28.0 ppt achieved in May 2001 during the 2000 – 2001 drought (see attached).

  

Caloosahatchee Estuary

                                                         

Current Conditions:

No discharge occurred through S-79 during the past week.  An average weekly discharge of 274 cfs occurred at S-77and 131 cfs at S-78.  The concentration of chlorides at the Olga Plant was 248 ppm yesterday, up from 237 ppm in the beginning of this reporting period. 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)

 16.71 ( 16.74)

17.47 (17.25)

Rt. 31 Bridge

18.12 (17.67)

 19.06 (18.67)

I-75 Bridge

  19.44 ( 18.64 )

 20.51 (20.08)

Ft. Myers Yacht Basin

  24.53 (24.41)

 24.77 (24.56)

Cape Coral Bridge

  31.89 (31.47)

32.51 (32.13)

Shell Point

  35.86 (35.67)

 36.51 (36.38)

 

Average salinities increased slightly (< 1 ppt) throughout the estuary.  Average salinity at the Ft. Myers surface sensor was 24.53 ppt, above the 1-day MFL criterion of 20 ppt.  The current surface salinity of 16.7 ppt at S-79 is 3.3 ppt below the maximum weekly average of 20.0 ppt achieved in May 2001 during the 2000 – 2001 drought.  Salinity at Shell Point and the Cape Coral Bridge is above the optimal range for the oyster, Crassostrea virginica.  Conditions in the upper estuary east of Ft. Myers are poor due to high salinity.  Conditions in the lower estuary downstream of Cape Coral are fair considering the combine salinity preference of oysters and seagrasses (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 Collier counties. 

 

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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