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

Palm City Bridge (S. Fork)

 0.33 (0.26)

0.38 (0.26)

 

HR1 (N. Fork)

    2.23 (0.36)

   5.45 (0.49)

 

Roosevelt Bridge

 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

Franklin Locks (S-79)

   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)

Ft. Myers Yacht Basin

   0.34 (0.41)

0.36 (0.43)

Cape Coral Bridge

   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 Ft. Myers.  Salinity conditions in the upper estuary east of Ft. Myers are good (30 day average at Ft. Myers = 0.29 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 8 ppt.  Therefore, conditions in the lower estuary between Cape Coral and Shell Point are considered poor (see attached).

 

FWRI (Fish and Wildlife Research Institute) reports that background concentrations of Karenia brevis, the Florida red tide organism, were detected this week in water samples collected near Cortez (Manatee County) and along the southeastern coast of Sanibel Island (Lee County). All other samples collected between Pinellas and Collier counties did not contain K. brevis.  Monitoring data collected by the River, Estuary and Coastal Observing Network (RECON) of Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) indicated that Chlorophyll concentrations over the last week were about 4.5-5.5 ug/L at Ft. Myers and 1.5 to 4 ug/L at Shell Point.  The DO concentration at the two locations ranged from about 4 to 6 mg/L.

 

 

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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