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

Palm City Bridge (S. Fork)

 0.22 (0.17)

0.22 (0.17)

 

HR1 (N. Fork)

    0.29 (0.15)

   0.47 (0.17)

 

Roosevelt Bridge

 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

Franklin Locks (S-79)

   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)

Ft. Myers Yacht Basin

   0.23 (0.19)

 0.23 (0.19)

Cape Coral Bridge

   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 Cape Coral Bridge.  Salinity conditions in the upper estuary east of Ft. Myers are good (30 day average at Ft. Myers = 0.42 ppt).  

 

Salinity at Cape Coral Bridge is below the preferred ranges for both oyster, Crassostrea virginica, and seagrass, Halodule wrightii. Salinity at Shell Pt is oscillating with the tide between about 29 ppt to 3 ppt.  Therefore, conditions in the lower estuary between Cape Coral and Shell Point are considered poor (see attached).

 

No Karenia brevis, the Florida red tide organism, was detected this week in water samples collected between Pinellas and Collier counties. 

 

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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