WCA - Everglades Conditions Update (Oct. 30, 2007)

 

Rainfall:

Rainfall throughout the WCAs and the northern Everglades National Park has ranged from 0.7” to 1.1”, with higher amounts falling in the more southern WCA-3B and ENP (see Raindar.gif).   Rainfall in WCAs 1, 2a, 2b, and 3a was 0.7” to 0.8”.  Pan evaporation for the week was slightly less than rainfall, which produced a net increase of water for the WCAs.  

 

Water Conservation Areas:

Water depths rose under 0.1’ with the rainfall in the Everglades (see WCA_stages.xls) except for WCA-2B, where water levels declined slightly (-0.06’).  The decreases that were occurring over the last few weeks at the 2-17 and 62 gages have ceased, rising very slightly.  Water depths at most gages exceed 1.25 feet, but average conservation area depths vary a lot (see WCA_stages.xls), ranging from 1.3’ in WCA 3B to 3.4’ in WCA 2B.  Stages in WCA-1 are within Zone A2, those in WCA-2A remain well above regulation, and stages in WCA-3 now are just within regulation (see WCA_reg_stages.doc).

 

Everglades National Park:

Rainfall was patchy (see Raindar.gif) but higher than the previous week across ENP and Florida Bay.  Wetland stations received between 0.8 - 3.4” of rainfall, and marine stations (excluding Taylor River and Whipray Basin) received between 0.6” - 2.5” of rainfall over the 7 day period.  The spatially averaged basin-wide accumulation for last week was 1.0”.

 

Rainfall kept ENP wetland water levels mostly static (see ENP Stages.pdf).  The water level at Shark River Slough (P33) decreased by 0.1” over the 7 day period and remained low for this time of year (end of the rainy season).  Southern stations’ depths increased by 0.6” and 0.8” at Taylor Slough Bridge and the ENP panhandle (EVER6), respectively.  Craighead Pond water level was unchanged last week.  All three of these southeastern Everglades stations had higher water levels than at this time last year.

 

Salinity (see ENP Salinity.pdf) remained low and stable across Florida Bay last week.  Strong flow from the Everglades down to the Bay through both Trout Creek and Taylor River allowed salinity to remain in the single digits (with a brief mid-week reversal).  Salinity at the Little Madeira Bay mouth platform remained in the low teens last week.  Salinity in the Taylor River ponds remained below 1 psu over the entire week.  In the north-central Bay areas, Terrapin Bay and McCormick Creek salinity decreased slightly to below 11 psu and 8 psu, respectively.  In central Florida Bay, Whipray Basin remained below 30 psu for another week.  In the Shark River Slough outflow at Tarpon Bay, salinity remained low, dropping below 1 psu.


 

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