Estuarine Conditions as of September 11, 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)

7.8

9.6

 

HR1 (N. Fork)

11.7

14.2

 

Roosevelt Bridge

16.4

17.2

8.0 – 25.0

A1A Bridge

25.2

28.9

20.0 – 31.0

 

Average weekly salinity in the estuary increased since the last report.  Local freshwater inflow continues to maintain surface salinity at both the Roosevelt Bridge and A1A Bridge within the preferred ranges.  Therefore, salinity conditions in the estuary are good (see attached).

 

 

 

Caloosahatchee Estuary

 

Current Conditions:

During the past week, discharge at S-79 averaged 164 cfs.  Chloride concentration at the Olga Plant is presently 77 mg/l.   Average salinity at the monitoring sites in the upper Caloosahatchee Estuary decreased slightly 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)

6.6

7.1

Rt. 31 Bridge

NA

7.7

I-75 Bridge

5.8

9.8

Ft. Myers Yacht Basin

8.0*

NA

Cape Coral Bridge

19.6

21.0

Shell Point

30.2

33.8

* based on two-day average.

 

Salinity in the upper estuary remains high for this time of year.  The 30-day average surface salinity at Ft. Myers is 11.4 ppt and decreasing.  Conditions in the upper estuary are fair.  Downstream of the Cape Coral Bridge salinity conditions are good (see attached).

 

During the last sampling trip to the Caloosahatchee at the end of August, a plankton bloom was noted upstream of S-79.  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.  

 

 

 

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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