Estuarine Conditions as of Sept 22, 2008
St. Lucie Estuary
Current Conditions:
During the last week, an average discharge of 1653 cfs occurred at S-80 from C-44 and 2195 cfs at S308. Flow data of C-23 and C-24 were currently inaccessible due to technical issues, but the discharge should be insignificant considering that very limited rainfall 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 |
|
0.33 (0.26) |
0.38 (0.26) |
|
HR1 (N. Fork) |
2.23 (0.36) |
5.45 (0.49) |
|
|
4.32 (0.93) |
6.36 (1.21) |
8.0 – 25.0 |
A1A Bridge |
14.77 (6.55) |
23.42 (18.29) |
20.0 – 31.0 |
Average salinity increased about 0.1 ppt in the South Fork to about 8.2 ppt at the A1A Bridge compared with that of the previous week. All four monitoring stations are reporting salinities below the preferred range, except for the bottom salinity at A1A Bridge. Salinity conditions in the estuary are still 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 3745 cfs occurred at S-79, 2328 cfs at S-78, and 2634 cfs at S-77. The concentration of chlorides at the Olga Plant was 43 ppm yesterday, down from 45 ppm at the beginning of this reporting period. 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 |
|
0.24 (0.22) |
0.24 (0.22) |
Rt. 31 Bridge |
0.24 (0.22) |
0.24 (NR) |
I-75 Bridge |
0.26 (0.25) |
0.27 (0.23) |
|
0.34 (0.41) |
0.36 (0.43) |
|
3.45 (2.63) |
5.17 (7.00) |
Shell Point |
16.66 (17.92) |
19.42 (22.24) |
In the estuary,
freshwater conditions extend from S-79 to downstream of
Salinity at
FWRI (Fish and Wildlife Research Institute) reports that background
concentrations of Karenia brevis, the
click on “Current Week”
click on “Technical Summary”
scroll to the bottom and click on “Coastal Ecosystems
Back to Lake Okeechobee Operations
Main Page
Back to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers LORSS Homepage