Kissimmee Watershed Environmental Conditions – 08/5/08:

·        Over the last seven days, the upper Kissimmee Basin received 1.48 inches of rainfall to bring the 30 day total to 7.79 inches (116% of average), and the lower basin received 1.92 inches to bring the 30 day total to 8.77 inches (142% of average) (Daily Rainfall Report 8/05/08).

·        Water levels continue to rise in all of the upper basin lakes including Lake Kissimmee.   Some lakes (Lakes Hart & Mary Jane, East Lake Tohopekaliga, and Lake Tohopekaliga) have reached the summer plateau of the regulation schedule.  Releases are being made from Lakes Hart (273 cfs), East Tohopekaliga (554 cfs), and Tohopekaliga (1441 cfs).

·        In the upper basin, there are no known active snail kite nests at this time, but there are still young being fed around nest sites on Lake Toho, both at Big Grassy Island and around South Steer Beach.  "Independent" young continue to use the lakes for foraging (including young hatched outside KCOL, e.g., Lake Istokpoga) and appear to be moving freely within the system.  

·        Flow is approximately 540 cfs at S65 and 1850 cfs at S65C.

·        The water level in the area of the restoration project decreases by 4.7 feet from 39.4 feet near the upstream end of the restored reach (station KRDR02) to 34.7 feet at the downstream end (headwater stage at S-65C).  Water depths on the floodplain within the restoration project range from approximately 0.5 to 2.4 feet.

·        From 7/29/08 to 8/05/08 dissolved oxygen concentrations in the Kissimmee River ranged from 1.1 mg/L to 2.9 mg/L and averaged 2 mg/L, up slightly from the previous week.

 


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