Estuarine Conditions as of July 21, 2008
St. Lucie Estuary
Current Conditions:
There were no releases through S-80 from C-44 over the past week. An average discharge of 121 cfs through S-48 from C-23 and 448 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 |
|
6.48 (4.40) |
7.46 (4.91) |
|
HR1 (N. Fork) |
2.58 (2.39) |
9.51 (5.24) |
|
|
8.38 (7.24) |
11.40 (8.79) |
8.0 – 25.0 |
A1A Bridge |
16.95 (15.00) |
24.26 (21.68) |
20.0 – 31.0 |
Compared with salinities of the previous week, average salinity in the estuary increased about 0.2 to 4.3 ppt. Salinity conditions in the estuary are considered to be fair, based on the salinity preference of the oyster, Crassostrea virginica (see attached).
Caloosahatchee Estuary
Current Conditions:
An average weekly discharge of 2540 cfs occurred at S-79. The concentration of chlorides at the Olga Plant was 54 ppm yesterday, down from 81 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).
|
Weekly Average Salinity (ppt) |
|
Sampling Site |
Surface |
Bottom |
|
0.43 (3.60) |
0.40 (3.84) |
Rt. 31 Bridge |
NR (NR) |
NR (NR) |
I-75 Bridge |
0.85 (4.14) |
1.10 (8.98) |
|
3.15 (10.24) |
3.55 (15.06) |
|
10.06 (18.36) |
10.43 (20.30) |
Shell Point |
20.84 (28.76) |
22.57 (29.47) |
Compared with
salinities of the previous week, average salinity decreased throughout the
estuary due to local runoff. Average salinities dropped between 3 ppt and
11 ppt depending on location and depth. Salinity
conditions in the upper estuary east of
No Karenia brevis,
the
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