Estuarine Conditions as of October 21, 2008

 

St. Lucie Estuary

 

Current Conditions:

During the last week, an average discharge of 210 cfs occurred at S-80 from C-44 including 185 cfs at S-308 from the Lake, 188 cfs at S-97 from C-23, and 207 cfs from S-49 from C-24(discharge values from S-97 and S49 are provisional).  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)

0.77 (0.46)

  0.83 (0.56)

 

HR1 (N. Fork)

   1.66 (2.20)

  4.30 (4.79)

 

Roosevelt Bridge

   4.41 (3.26)

  5.52 (3.83)

8.0 – 25.0

A1A Bridge

 16.32 (10.85)

23.90 (20.18)

20.0 – 31.0

  

Compared with the previous week, average salinity increased from < 1 ppt in North Fork and South Fork to about 4.5 ppt at A1A Bridge in the estuary.  Bottom salinity at A1A Bridge is within the preferred range and the surface salinity is close to the lower limit of the preferred range at A1A Bridge.  Salinity at Roosevelt Bridge is below the preferred range.  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:

During the last week, an average discharge of 915 cfs occurred at S-79, 197 cfs at S-78, and 43 cfs at S-77.  The concentration of chlorides at the Olga Plant was 53 ppm yesterday, up from 46 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)

   0.26 (0.24)

0.27 (0.25)

Rt. 31 Bridge

   0.27 (0.24)

   0.28 (0.25)

I-75 Bridge

   0.31 (0.26)

0.36 (0.27)

Ft. Myers Yacht Basin

   1.19 (0.29)

2.93 (0.30)

Cape Coral Bridge

   6.78 (3.10)

 10.03 (5.71)

Shell Point

 21.36 (16.61)

22.48 (20.12)

 

In the estuary, freshwater conditions extend from S-79 downstream to Ft. Myers Yacht Basin.  Salinity conditions in the upper estuary east of Ft. Myers are good (30 day average at Ft. Myers = 0.48 ppt).  

 

Compared with the previous week, average salinity remained about the same in the upper estuary to I-75. An increase in salinity of 1-2.5 ppt occurred at Ft. Myers Yacht Basin and 3- 5 ppt in the lower estuary downstream of Cape Coral Bridge. Salinities at Cape Coral Bridge are still below the preferred ranges for both oyster, Crassostrea virginica, and seagrass, Halodule wrightii.  Therefore, conditions in the lower estuary are still considered poor in spite of the improvement occurring over the last week 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 at the Gasparilla Fishing Pier (Charlotte County), South Seas Plantation (Captiva, Lee County) and Lovers Key State Park (Lee County). All other water samples collected alongshore between Pinellas and Collier counties contained no K. brevis. A bloom of K. brevis, identified last week west of Lee County, remains slightly offshore (0.5 to 4 miles) between Cayo Costa and Captiva islands. No impacts have been reported.  Monitoring data collected by the River, Estuary and Coastal Observing Network (RECON) of Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) indicated that over the last week Chlorophyll concentrations were about 3.5-4.5 µg/L at Ft. Myers and 1.5-3.5 µg/L at Shell Point.  The DO concentration at the two locations ranged from about 5-7 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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