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

Palm City Bridge (S. Fork)

 18.06 (16.64)

20.11 (18.88)

 

HR1 (N. Fork)

  20.92 (21.40)

 22.16 (21.98)

 

Roosevelt Bridge

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 Roosevelt Bridge.  The current surface salinity of 23.7 ppt at the Roosevelt Bridge is 4.3 ppt 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 227 cfs occurred at S-77 through Sunday.  On Monday 14 cfs went back into Lake Okeechobee.  An average weekly discharge of 21.6 cfs occurred at S-78.  The concentration of chlorides at the Olga Plant was 232 ppm yesterday, down from 249 ppm in the beginning of this reporting period.  

 

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

Franklin Locks (S-79)

 NA ( 19.49)

NA (20.85)

Rt. 31 Bridge

NA (19.47)

   NA (21.58)

I-75 Bridge

   NA (20.28)

 NA (22.67)

Ft. Myers Yacht Basin

   NA (26.48)

 NA (27.23)

Cape Coral Bridge

   NA (31.74)

NA (31.95)

Shell Point

   NA (35.88)

 NA (36.60)

 

In summary, 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 PinellasCounty and the Florida Keys or offshore of Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, or Monroe counties. Discolored water has been reported nearshore in Lee, Collier, and Monroe counties due to the presence of high concentrations of the marine cyanobacterium Trichodesmium. Trichodesmium 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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