Estuarine Conditions as of October 23, 2007

 

St. Lucie Estuary

 

Current Conditions:

No releases occurred at S-80 over the past week.  Weekly average salinities at the four monitoring sites in the St. Lucie are given below in parts per thousand (ppt).

 

 

Weekly Average Salinity (ppt)

 

Sampling Site

Surface

Bottom

Envelope

Palm City Bridge (S. Fork)

2.1

2.7

 

HR1 (N. Fork)

1.1

5.0

 

Roosevelt Bridge

5.9

7.2

8.0 – 25.0

A1A Bridge

14.2

23.0

20.0 – 31.0

 

 

Average salinity increased throughout the estuary last week.  Only bottom water at the A1A Bridge fell within the preferred salinity range. Based on the salinity tolerances of the oyster, Crassostrea virginica, salinity conditions in the estuary are poor to fair (see attached).

 

 

Caloosahatchee Estuary

 

Current Conditions:

Discharge at S-79 averaged 11.4 cfs over the past week.  The concentration of chlorides at the Olga Plant is 78 mg/l.  Average salinity increased throughout the estuary last week. Data for specific sites are given below in parts per thousand (ppt).

 

 

Weekly Average Salinity (ppt)

Sampling Site

Surface

Bottom

Franklin Locks (S-79)

7.8

8.2

Rt. 31 Bridge

7.2

9.5

I-75 Bridge

6.6

8.9

Ft. Myers Yacht Basin

13.2

15.8

Cape Coral Bridge

19.8

23.6

Shell Point

29.0

30.4

 

Salinity conditions throughout the system are good seaward of Cape Coral.  Conditions in the upper estuary are poor (see attached).

 

FWRI reports a bloom of Karenia brevis, the Florida red tide organism, 5 to 30 miles west of Collier County.  The bloom is offshore between Wiggins Pass and southern Naples. Additional offshore samples collected west of Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte and Lee counties contained K. brevis concentrations ranging from not present to very low.  Background to very low concentrations have also been detected in alongshore samples collected in southern Lee County and northern Collier County

 

 

 

To find this information on the web:

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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