Estuarine Conditions as of June 10, 2008
St. Lucie Estuary
Current Conditions:
There were no releases through S-80 from C-44, S-48
from C-23, and S-49 from C-24 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).
|
Weekly Average Salinity
(ppt) |
|
|
Sampling Site |
Surface |
Bottom |
Envelope |
|
18.06 (16.64)
|
20.11
(18.88) |
|
HR1 (N. Fork) |
20.92 (21.40) |
22.16 (21.98) |
|
|
23.72 (23.48) |
24.43 (24.27) |
8.0 – 25.0 |
A1A Bridge |
29.82 (29.56) |
30.31
(30.67) |
20.0 – 31.0 |
Compared with salinities of the previous week, average
salinity increased by 2 ppt at Palm City Bridge and stayed
about the same at Roosevelt Bridge (about 24 ppt), A1A Bridge (about 30 ppt), and HR1 (about 21 ppt). The
salinities at both Roosevelt and 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
Caloosahatchee Estuary
Current Conditions:
No discharge occurred through S-79 during the past
week. An average weekly discharge of 227 cfs
occurred at S-77 through Sunday. On Monday 14 cfs
went back into
Due to technical difficulties, salinity readings from
the six stations in the Caloosahatchee Estuary are not accessible at this
point. Coordination is ongoing with the District IT staff to solve the
problem. Average salinities of the previous week were provided in
parenthesis. Based on local hydrologic conditions and salinity data
collected by other agencies, it can be reasonably assumed that salinity
conditions in the Caloosahatchee Estuary remain similar to that in the previous
week. Salinity data collected by both USGS
(Marker 52 - http://waterdata.usgs.gov/fl/nwis/uv?site_no=02293205) and Sanibel-Captiva
Conservation Foundation (http://recon.sccf.org/recent/index.shtml) indicate that average salinity
from June 3 to 10 at Ft. Myers was about 26-27 ppt,
similar to that of the previous week. This is about 6-7 ppt above the 1-day MFL criterion
of 20 ppt. Salinity at Shell Point monitored by
Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation was about 36
to 38 ppt during the past week.
|
Weekly Average Salinity
(ppt) |
|
Sampling Site |
Surface |
Bottom |
|
NA ( 19.49) |
NA (20.85)
|
Rt. 31 Bridge |
NA (19.47)
|
NA (21.58) |
I-75 Bridge |
NA (20.28) |
NA (22.67) |
|
NA
(26.48) |
NA (27.23) |
|
NA (31.74) |
NA (31.95)
|
Shell Point |
NA (35.88) |
NA (36.60) |
In summary, salinity conditions in the upper estuary
east of
No Karenia brevis, the
click on
“Current Week”
click on
“Technical Summary”
scroll to
the bottom and click on “Coastal Ecosystems”
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