Estuarine Conditions as of November 25, 2008

 

St. Lucie Estuary

 

Current Conditions:

Over the past week discharge averaged 213 cfs at S-80. Discharge from the Lake at S-308 averaged 763 cfs.  Provisional data indicated an average discharge of 220 cfs at S-97 on C-23, and 0 cfs from S-49 on C-24 (S-49 discharge values are unavailable for the last 3 days).  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)

NR  (5.31)

   7.12 (6.61)

 

HR1 (N. Fork)

 14.19 (11.27)

 16.97 (12.58)

 

Roosevelt Bridge

 15.09 (12.68)

 17.27 (14.06)

8.0 – 25.0

A1A Bridge

 24.89 (22.68)

 26.11 (25.09)

20.0 – 31.0

  

Salinity increased about 1 to 4 ppt throughout the estuary during the past week.  Salinity at Roosevelt Bridge and A1A Bridge are within the preferred range.  Salinity conditions in the estuary are considered to be good based on the salinity preference of the oyster, Crassostrea virginica, and location in the estuary see graphic.  

  

Caloosahatchee Estuary

                                                         

Current Conditions:

During the last week, discharge averaged 468 cfs at S-79, 308 cfs at S-78, and 478 cfs at S-77.  The concentration of chlorides at the Olga Plant was 55 ppm yesterday.  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)

   3.39 (4.34)

3.41 (4.33)

Rt. 31 Bridge

   3.57 (5.14)

   3.85 (5.46)

I-75 Bridge

   3.93 (5.58)

5.60 (6.59)

Ft. Myers Yacht Basin

   7.97 (9.44)

  11.13 (9.65)

Cape Coral Bridge

 16.69 (17.05)

  18.22 (17.80)

Shell Point

 26.89 (27.50)

  27.48 (27.97)

 

Salinity decreased slightly (about 1 ppt) at all stations except for bottom salinities at Ft. Myers Yacht Basin and Cape Coral Bridge. Salinity conditions in the upper estuary east of Ft. Myers are good (30 day average at Ft. Myers = 6.8 ppt).  Salinities at the Cape Coral Bridge are within the preferred range for the oyster, Crassostrea virginica, and well within the range tolerated by seagrass, Halodule wrightii.  Therefore, conditions in the lower estuary are good.  Salinity at Shell Point indicates that conditions are good in San Carlos Bay see graphic.

 

FWRI (Fish and Wildlife Research Institute) reports that water samples collected alongshore between Pinellas and Collier counties contained no K. brevis. (www.floridamarine.org).  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 ranged between 3.1 and 7.3 µg/L at Ft. Myers and 1.3 to 2.3 µg/L at Shell Point.  The DO concentration at the two locations ranged from 5.5 to 8.7 mg/L (www.recon.sccf.org).

 

 

 

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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