Estuarine Conditions as of July 28, 2008

 

St. Lucie Estuary

 

Current Conditions:

There were no releases through S-80 from C-44 over the past week.  An average discharge of 80 cfs through S-48 from C-23 and 234 cfs through S-49 from C-24 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). 

 

 

Weekly Average Salinity (ppt)

 

Sampling Site

Surface

Bottom

Envelope

Palm City Bridge (S. Fork)

 7.22 (6.48)

8.08 (7.46)

 

HR1 (N. Fork)

    5.31 (2.58)

  10.52 (9.51)

 

Roosevelt Bridge

9.70 (8.38)

 12.23 (11.40)

8.0 – 25.0

A1A Bridge

 18.91 (16.95)

 25.61 (24.26)

20.0 – 31.0

 

 

Compared with salinities of the previous week, average salinity in the estuary increased about 0.5 to 2.7 ppt.  Three of four monitoring stations are reporting salinities within the preferred range.  Salinity conditions in the estuary are considered to be fair to good, based on the salinity preference of the oyster, Crassostrea virginica, and location in the estuary (see attached).  

  

Caloosahatchee Estuary

                                                         

Current Conditions:

An average weekly discharge of 1342 cfs occurred at S-79.  The concentration of chlorides at the Olga Plant was 62 ppm yesterday, up from 54 ppm in the beginning of this reporting period.  The current weekly average salinities (in bold) at the six monitoring sites in the Caloosahatchee Estuary are given below in parts per thousand (ppt), along with the previous week’s (in parenthesis). 

 

Based on the USGS flow meter located just below S77 water is flowing back into the Lake at a rate of about 200cfs.

S78 has remained closed with no discharge throughout the month of July

 

 

Weekly Average Salinity (ppt)

Sampling Site

Surface

Bottom

Franklin Locks (S-79)

 0.29 (0.43)

0.29 (0.40)

Rt. 31 Bridge

 NR (NR)

    NR (NR)

I-75 Bridge

   0.41 (0.85)

 0.41 (1.10)

Ft. Myers Yacht Basin

   1.18 (3.15)

 1.28 (3.55)

Cape Coral Bridge

   6.81 (10.06)

   8.62 (10.43)

Shell Point

 20.22 (28.76)

 22.29 (29.47)

 

Compared with salinities of the previous week, average salinity decreased throughout the estuary due to local runoff.  Average salinities dropped between 0.11 ppt and 8.54 ppt depending on location and depth.  The 30-day average surface salinity is decreasing and stands at 8 ppt.  Salinity conditions in the upper estuary east of Ft. Myers are good. Salinity at Cape Coral Bridge is below the preferred range for the oyster, Crassostrea virginica and  below the preferred range for seagrass, Halodule wrightii, upstream of Shell Point.  Conditions in the lower estuary between Cape Coral and Shell Point are fair-poor considering the combined salinity preference of oysters and seagrasses.  Continued low salinity will result in poor conditions (see attached).  

 

Background concentrations of Karenia brevis, the Florida red tide organism, were detected this week in a single water sample collected from Sarasota Bay. All other water samples collected, both alongshore and offshore, between Pinellas and Monroe counties were free of any K. brevis. A bloom of the dinoflagellate Pyrodinium bahamense is still present in Old Tampa Bay (Pinellas County). No impacts have been reported.

 

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”

 

 


 

Back to Lake Okeechobee Operations Main Page

Back to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers LORSS Homepage