WCA - Everglades Conditions Update

(July 8, 2008)

 

Rainfall:

Water Conservation Areas 1 and 2 received a large quantity of rain this past week (see attached raindar.gif). Although 2 inches less rain fell across the southern system, it was still significant because it was greater than the evaporation estimate for the week of 1.56” (see srs.pdf).

WCA-1:          3.65”               WCA-3A:        3.1”

WCA-2A:       4.89”               WCA-3B:        2.62”

WCA-2B:       3.76”               ENP:                2.53”

 

Fire:

One marsh grass fire was reported in the NE section of WCA-3A on Tuesday July 1.

 

Water Conservation Areas:

Last week we saw a reprieve for the wading birds and their ability to feeding their fledglings because good recession rates occurred in quite a few locations. However, this week, the foraging period has officially ended everywhere in the EPA, because all areas had significant stage increases and all are too deep for wading bird foraging (see WCA Stages.xls). Water levels increased by an amazing 0.67 ft (8 inches) in WCA-2A. The smallest increase in stage was in WCA-1 (0.06 ft or ¾ inch). Depths range from a low of 1.13 feet in WCA-3B to a high of 2.05 ft in the southern region of WCA-3A (the L-67 c and d levees work to maintain this hydrologic disparity).

 

Stages are currently above regulation in all three Water Conservation Areas (see WCA_reg_stages.doc).

 

Everglades National Park:

Spatially variable rainfall again produced mixed trends for ENP wetland water levels.  Shark River Slough (station P33) water level was nearly unchanged from last week (despite having receiving approx. 1.5” of rain for the week).   Water level dropped by nearly 2” (falling just beneath ground surface) for the week at Taylor Slough Bridge, an area where water levels have experienced rapid increases over recent weeks.  To the south, water level increased by 1.2” and 1.6” at Craighead Pond and in the panhandle (station EVER6), respectively (see Stages_080707). 

 

Salinity trends across FL Bay were also mixed last week.  Only the eastern-most USGS & ENP platforms at Highway Creek (HC) and Long Sound recorded declining salinity over the past week, with HC reaching single digits as of Sunday, 7/6.  Salinity in the eastern Bay proper (e.g., Duck Key, L. Madeira Bay mouth), held in the mid-30s for yet another week.  The Taylor River (TR) 30d moving average salinity (used for tracking the FL Bay MFL criterion) dropped to 29.1 psu as of Sunday, 7/6 (down a bit from last week’s reading of 31.7 psu); Friday (7/4) was the first time in 41 d this value has been below the 30 psu threshold.  Salinity in the central Bay station at Whipray Basin remained stable in the mid 40s.  In the upstream reaches of Shark River (Tarpon Bay platform, an area that received 4.5” of rain last week), salinity continued to decline last week, reaching seasonal oligohaline (< 5 psu) concentrations. Please contact Robin Bennett (rbennet @sfwmd.gov)  if you have any questions.

 

Wildlife:

No new data or information to report. 

 


 

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