Estuarine Conditions as of Sept 1, 2008
St. Lucie Estuary
Current Conditions:
During the last week, an average discharge of 1753 cfs occurred at S-80 from C-44. Average discharge
values through S-48 from C-23 and through S-49 from C-24 are unavailable 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) and
the preferred range (envelope) at the two downstream sensors. HR1 values
are estimated from two days at the beginning of this week.
|
Weekly Average Salinity (ppt) |
|
|
Sampling Site |
Surface |
Bottom |
Envelope |
|
0.17 (1.43)
|
0.17 (1.44) |
|
HR1 (N. Fork) |
0.15
(0.92) |
0.17(1.20) |
|
|
0.20 (1.89) |
0.20(1.96)
|
8.0 – 25.0 |
A1A Bridge |
2.87
(3.82) |
9.75 (4.48) |
20.0 – 31.0 |
Compared with salinities of the previous week, average salinity in the estuary decreased about 0.8 to 1.8 ppt., except for bottom salinity at A1A Bridge which increased by 5.3 ppt. 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 10,311 cfs
occurred at S-79. The concentration of chlorides at the Olga Plant was 30
ppm yesterday, up from 22 ppm
at the beginning of this reporting period. Prior to Tropical Storm Fay,
S-78 remained closed with no discharge since June 30th. S-78
average discharge during the last week was 3993 cfs.
The gates at S-77 have remained closed 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 |
|
0.16 (0.16) |
0.15 (0.16) |
Rt. 31 Bridge |
0.16 (0.16) |
NR (NR) |
I-75 Bridge |
0.20 (0.19) |
0.18
(0.18) |
|
0.19 (0.28) |
0.19 (0.28)
|
|
0.54 (NR) |
1.13 (NR) |
Shell Point |
7.69 (5.29) |
11.45 (7.35)
|
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”
scroll to the bottom and click on “Coastal Ecosystems
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