Estuarine Conditions as of August 28, 2007

 

St. Lucie Estuary

 

Current Conditions:

No releases occurred at S-80 over the past week.  Weekly average salinities at the four monitoring sites in the St. Lucie are given below in parts per thousand (ppt).

 

 

Weekly Average Salinity (ppt)

 

Sampling Site

Surface

Bottom

Envelope

Palm City Bridge (S. Fork)

2.7

3.4

 

HR1 (N. Fork)

3.9

7.4

 

Roosevelt Bridge

7.8

8.9

8.0 – 25.0

A1A Bridge

15.5

24.3

20.0 – 31.0

 

Average weekly salinity in the North and South Forks declined slightly since the last report.  Local freshwater inflow continues to maintain surface salinity at both the Roosevelt Bridge and A1A Bridge below the preferred ranges.  Therefore, salinity conditions in the estuary are fair (see attached).

 

 

Caloosahatchee Estuary

 

Current Conditions:

During the past week, discharge at S-79 occurred on two days and averaged 50 cfs for the week.  Chloride concentration at the Olga Plant is presently 82 mg/l.   In general, average salinity at the monitoring sites in the Caloosahatchee Estuary increased over the past week.  Data for specific sites are given below in parts per thousand (ppt).

 

 

Weekly Average Salinity (ppt)

Sampling Site

Surface

Bottom

Franklin Locks (S-79)

8.0

9.0

Rt. 31 Bridge

NA

10.2

I-75 Bridge

7.7

11.6

Ft. Myers Yacht Basin

14.0 *

NA

Cape Coral Bridge

19.1

20.7

Shell Point

30.5

33.0

* based on two-day average

 

Since surface salinity exceeds 10 ppt at the Ft. Myers Yacht Basin, salinity conditions in the upper estuary remain poor.  In the lower estuary and San Carlos Bay salinity condition are good (see attached).

 

 

FWRI reports that no Karenia brevis, the Florida red tide organism, was detected this week in water samples collected alongshore between Pinellas and Monroe counties.  Discolored water due to a bloom of the cyanobacteria Trichodesmium remains possible along portions of the southwest Florida coast.

 

 

To find this information on the web:

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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