Estuarine Conditions as of Sept 8, 2008
St. Lucie Estuary
Current Conditions:
During the last week, an average discharge of 1912 cfs occurred at S-80 from C-44 and 879 cfs at S308. An average discharge of 666 cfs through S-48 from C-23 and 818 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 |
|
0.22 (0.17) |
0.22 (0.17) |
|
HR1 (N. Fork) |
0.29 (0.15) |
0.47 (0.17) |
|
|
0.92 (0.20) |
1.66 (0.20) |
8.0 – 25.0 |
A1A Bridge |
6.48 (2.87) |
16.66(9.75) |
20.0 – 31.0 |
Compared with salinities of the previous week, average salinity in the estuary increased only slightly in the upper estuary (<1 ppt) to about 4-7 ppt in the lower estuary at A1A Bridge. All four monitoring stations are reporting salinities below the preferred range. Salinity conditions in the estuary are considered to be poor based on the salinity preference of the oyster, Crassostrea virginica, and location in the estuary (see attached).
Caloosahatchee Estuary
Current Conditions:
An average weekly discharge of 6191 cfs occurred at S-79 and 2136 cfs at S-77. The concentration of chlorides at the Olga Plant was 40 ppm yesterday, up from 30 ppm at the beginning of this reporting period. An average discharge of 3708 cfs occurred at S-78 over the past week.
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 |
|
0.21 (0.16) |
0.22 (0.15) |
Rt. 31 Bridge |
0.21 (0.16) |
NR (NR) |
I-75 Bridge |
0.24 (0.20) |
0.22 (0.18) |
|
0.23 (0.19) |
0.23 (0.19) |
|
1.15 (0.54) |
1.60 (1.13) |
Shell Point |
11.16 (7.69) |
16.62 (11.45) |
In the estuary, freshwater
conditions extend from S-79 downstream to
Salinity at
No Karenia
brevis, the
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click on “Technical Summary”
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