MEMORANDUM
TO: Chip
Merriam, Deputy Executive Director, Water Resources
FROM: SFWMD Staff Environmental Advisory Team
DATE: November 27, 2007
SUBJECT: Weekly
Environmental Recommendation for Systems Operations
Recommendation
No Lake Okeechobee regulatory releases to the
south or estuaries are recommended.
Background
Light
rainfall likely through Thursday. A
weakening cold front should overtake a weak trough over south
Over
the last 7 days, the upper Kissimmee Basin received 0 inches of rainfall to
bring the 30 day total to 1.51 inches (60% of the long-term average) and the
lower basin received 0.03 inches to bring the 30 day total to 0.92 inches (40%
of the long term average). During the
last week, water levels in the upper basin lakes have not changed. Water levels in Lakes Kissimmee, Hatchineha and
Flow
has been reestablished to the
According
to the USACE web site,
St. Lucie Estuary
There
were no releases through S-80 over the past week. Discharge at S-97 on the C-24 Canal averaged
64 cfs.
Discharge at S-49 on the C-23 canal averaged 2 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 weeks
(in parenthesis).
|
Weekly Average Salinity (ppt) |
|
|
Sampling Site |
Surface |
Bottom |
Envelope |
|
7.2 (4.3) |
8.6 (5.7) |
|
HR1 (N. Fork) |
9.0 (8.1) |
10.9 (11.0) |
|
|
12.8 (11.0) |
12.9 (12.3) |
8.0 25.0 |
A1A Bridge |
22.3 (18.4) |
26.6 (24.3) |
20.0 31.0 |
Salinity
increased this week throughout the estuary.
Both the surface and bottom salinity are now up to the preferred range
at the
Caloosahatchee Estuary
No
discharge occurred at S-79 last week.
The concentration of chlorides at the Olga Plant is 147 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 weeks data (in parenthesis).
|
Weekly Average Salinity (ppt) |
|
Sampling Site |
Surface |
Bottom |
|
14.7 (13.3) |
15.0 (14.0) |
Rt.
31 Bridge |
13.5 (12.0) |
14.9 (14.0) |
I-75
Bridge |
13.4 (12.0) |
15.7 (14.6) |
|
19.0 (17.1) |
19.2 (18.4) |
|
23.7 (22.8) |
26.8 (25.1) |
Shell
Point |
32.4 (30.3) |
33.9 (31.5) |
Salinity
conditions throughout the system remain good seaward of
FWRI reports that water samples collected alongshore this week between
Pinellas and Collier counties contained no Karenia
brevis, the
Water Conservation Areas
Dry season recession rates predominate in the entire region but
not as much as they have for the last few weeks, especially in WCA-2A. Water depths
decreased by 0.08 in WCA-1, 0.14 in WCA-2A, 0.1 in northern WCA-3A,
0.09 NESRS, but only by 0.03 in WCA-3B.
Water depths are typically above 2 ft,
at this time of year, in the WCAs. However, on average, all the WCAs (except WCA-2B) have water
depths below 2.0 ft. Stages in WCA-1 are in Zone B, WCA-2A
remains well above regulation, and stages in WCA-3
remain below regulation.
Most
stations recorded no rainfall over the 7 day period. Everglades National Park (ENP) wetland water levels were generally down for the
week. The exception to this trend was at
P33 (in northern SRS) where water levels have been stable. In southern SRS, water level declined by 1.2
and by 1.6 in the panhandle at EVER6. With the cessation of pumping from S332D,
Salinity
either increased slightly or remained stable across
Water Supply
Water
levels in the upper and lower Kissimmee Basin and Lower West Coast continued to
decline this week and are now slightly below their historical average conditions
for this time of year. Water levels in
the coastal areas of
The
Water Supply Risk Measures were unchanged this week. Six out of eleven water supply risk measures
are in the high risk category - the projected Lake O Stage (SSM), the Palmer Index for Tributary Conditions, the LOK Seasonal Net Inflow Forecast and Lower East Coast
Service Areas 1, 2 and 3.
Water
Conservation Areas 1, 2A and 3A continue to be in the low risk category. The CPC Precipitation Outlook and
Multi-Seasonal Net Inflow Forecasts remain at medium risk this week.
Chlorides
at the Olga WTP on the
WSE
(
The current
CC: George
Horne