Estuarine Conditions as of June 17, 2008

 

St. Lucie Estuary

 

Current Conditions:

There were no releases through S-80 from C-44 and S-49 from C-24 over the past week.  An average discharge of 13.65 cfs from S-48 of C-23 occurred over the past week. 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).  The surface salinity at A1A Bridge is a three-day average (see attached). 

 

 

Weekly Average Salinity (ppt)

 

Sampling Site

Surface

Bottom

Envelope

Palm City Bridge (S. Fork)

 18.05 (18.06)

20.77 (20.11)

 

HR1 (N. Fork)

  21.05 (20.92)

 23.42 (22.16)

 

Roosevelt Bridge

24.22 (23.72)

25.42 (24.43)

8.0 – 25.0

A1A Bridge

 29.83 (29.82)

NA (30.31)

20.0 – 31.0

 

 

Compared with salinities of the previous week, average salinity increased slightly throughout the estuary.  The surface salinities at both Roosevelt and A1A Bridge are just within the upper limit of the preferred range.  The bottom salinity at Roosevelt Bridge has exceeded 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 of 24 ppt at the Roosevelt Bridge is 4 ppt below the maximum weekly average of 28.0 ppt achieved in May 2001 during the 2000 – 2001 drought.

  

Caloosahatchee Estuary

                                                         

Current Conditions:

An average weekly discharge of 111 cfs occurred at S-79 and 230 cfs occurred at S-77.  No discharge occurred at S-78.  The concentration of chlorides at the Olga Plant was 228 ppm yesterday, down from 232 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)

 17.84 (19.97)

20.06 (21.53)

Rt. 31 Bridge

18.25 (20.20)

 22.68 (22.91)

I-75 Bridge

  20.71 (21.80)

 22.55 (23.03)

Ft. Myers Yacht Basin

  24.67 (26.11)

25.67 (26.50)

Cape Coral Bridge

  30.04 (31.73)

29.98 (32.16)

Shell Point

  35.08 (35.70)

 35.22 (36.46)

 

Average salinities dropped about 1-2 ppt throughout the estuary.  Average salinity at the Ft. Myers surface sensor was 24.67 ppt, still above the 1-day MFL criterion of 20 ppt.  The current surface salinity of 17.8 ppt at S-79 is 2.2 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.   Salinity conditions in the upper estuary east of Ft. Myers are still poor due to high salinity.  Conditions in the lower estuary downstream of Cape Coral are becoming poor considering the combine salinity preference of oysters and seagrasses (see attached).  

 

No Karenia brevis, the Florida red tide organism, was detected this week in water samples collected alongshore between Pinellas County and the Florida Keys or offshore of Sarasota and Monroe counties.  Discolored water is possible alongshore of Charlotte and Lee counties due to the continued presence of high concentrations of the marine cyanobacterium TrichodesmiumTrichodesmium can collect at the water surface and appear brown, green, or white.At high concentrations, a Trichodesmium bloom may be mistaken for an oil or sewage spill.

 

 

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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