WCA - Everglades
Conditions Update (July 3, 2007)
Rainfall:
Precipitation
was intense along the eastern shoreline of south Florida (see attached Raindar), but was relatively
sparse for this time of year in the interior, barely being able to keep up with
the pan evaporation rate of 1.87 inches (see srs.pdf).
Total precipitation (in inches) for the week, starting in the North, was
WCA1=1.4, WCA2A=2.0; WCA2B=2.0; WCA3A=1.5; WCA3B=2.2; ENP=1.9.
Water
Conservation Areas:
The stage
increased for most of the Everglades, but not
significantly (see spreadsheet).
In WCA-1 depth is about 0.8 ft, but stage increased by only 0.05 ft for the
week. In WCA-2A, the depth is still relatively low at 0.17 ft, but inundation
was good at 0.13 ft. WCA-2B is something of an enigma (Not the
Word of the Week because you should know this one) where the gage near the
canal dropped by 0.11 ft and the interior site (EDEN-13) increased by 0.26 ft.
Enhanced seepage due to urban withdrawals may be the cause. In the
northern sections of WCA-3A water levels actually dropped by as much as 0.18 ft
and the northeastern section of the region is -0.33 below ground. WCA-3B had
fair re-wetting rates and has an average depth of 0.89 ft, which is good. The
NESRS had a good re-wetting rate this week but is still relatively shallow for
this time of year (depth=0.63 ft). WCA-1 and 3 are below Regulation and
WCA-2A is right at Regulation (see .doc).
Everglades National
Park:
Rainfall was
patchy across ENP & FL
Bay again last week, with
the panhandle region of ENP & the Bay proper receiving more rainfall than
areas to the north & west. The range of precip recorded across the
basin (at the stations for which we receive data) was 1.2” – 5.2” as a 7 d accumulation.
This is not well reflected in the RAINDAR weekly ENP basin-wide spatial average
accumulation of 2.0”.
Water levels
across the area displayed mixed patterns for another week. In SRS at P33
and at the Taylor
Slough Bridge,
water levels were down again by ~ 0.75”. In the southern part of the
system, down at Craighead Pond (station CP), water levels did not change from
last week. In contrast, in the panhandle (at EVER6), water levels were up
considerably by 2.6”.
Salinity
continued to drop or remain low across FL Bay last week. Salinity at
Trout Ck. remained in single digits for much of the week. The platform at
the mouth of L. Madeira Bay read salinity concentrations in the mid-20s,
dropping slightly from last week’s upper 20s. Salinity in the Taylor River
ponds remained < 5 psu all week (~ 3 psu @ Pond 5 & nearly fresh up at
Argyle Hendry). The 30 d moving average concentration at TR continues to
decline, remaining well below the 30 psu point (at 5.0 psu as of Sunday,
7/1). Salinity is expected to remain low in the ponds for the
remainder of the wet season. Salinity concentrations held steady in the northcentral Bay
areas of McCormick Ck. and Terrapin
Bay, into the lower-20s
or below 20 psu. In the central Bay, Whipray Basin
salinity held near 35 psu for yet another week. On a trip taken on Friday
(6/29) the measured salinity was 20 psu in Garfield Bight. This is well
below average for this time of the wet season (normally salinity is near 30 psu
this time of year @ GB), further highlighting the fact this part of the system
has received copious (Not the Word of the Week) rainfall &
flow is making its way into FL Bay. To the north and west, Tarpon Bay
(SRS outflow) salinity dropped to near 2 psu as of Sunday, 7/1.
Until the
great disparity between the southern and northern rainfall patterns in the Everglades subsides, we are not likely to experience any eupeptic
(Yes – This is the Word of the Week) frame of mind.
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