Estuarine Conditions as of November 19, 2007

 

St. Lucie Estuary

 

Current Conditions:

There were no releases through S-80 over the past week.  Discharge at S-97 on the C-24 Canal is currently 0 cfs.  Discharges at S-49 on the C-23 canal are currently about 4 cfs. 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)

4.28 (2.5)

5.69 (2.9)

 

HR1 (N. Fork)

8.06 (7.3)

11.02 (10.3)

 

Roosevelt Bridge

11.04 (9.7)

12.34 (12.1)

8.0 – 25.0

A1A Bridge

18.40 (17.9)

24.34 (24.4)

20.0 – 31.0

 

 

Salinity conditions improved this week throughout the estuary. Both the surface and bottom salinity are now up to the preferred range at the Roosevelt Bridge, but still only the bottom salinity is in the preferred range at the A1A Bridge. Based on the salinity tolerances of the oyster, Crassostrea virginica, salinity conditions in the estuary are good-fair (see attached).

 

 

Caloosahatchee Estuary

 

Current Conditions:

No discharge occurred at S-79 last week.  The concentration of chlorides at the Olga Plant is 144 mg/l.  Average salinity increased throughout the estuary last week.  Weekly average salinities for specific sites are given below in parts per thousand (ppt).  Current weekly averages (in bold) may be compared to last week’s data (in parenthesis).

 

 

Weekly Average Salinity (ppt)

Sampling Site

Surface

Bottom

Franklin Locks (S-79)

13.3 (10.9)

14.0 (12.3)

Rt. 31 Bridge

12.0 (10.2)

14.0 (13.7)

I-75 Bridge

12.0 (10.5)

14.6 (14.2)

Ft. Myers Yacht Basin

17.1 (15.4)

18.4 (17.1)

Cape Coral Bridge

22.8 (22.3)

25.1 (24.5)

Shell Point

30.3 (30.0)

31.5 (30.9)

 

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

 

 

FWRI reports that water samples collected offshore this week, 7 to 25 miles west of Collier County, detected Karenia brevis, the Florida red tide organism, at concentrations ranging from not present to very low.  Alongshore samples collected between Pinellas and Collier counties contained no K. brevis.   

 

 

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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