MEMORANDUM
TO: Chip
Merriam, Deputy Executive Director, Water Resources
FROM: SFWMD Staff Environmental Advisory Team
DATE: December 11, 2007
SUBJECT: Weekly
Environmental Recommendation for Systems Operations
Recommendation
No Lake Okeechobee regulatory releases to the
south or estuaries are recommended.
Background
Some
light showers east; increasing shower activity Thursday night through
Saturday. High pressure located east of
Florida will maintain mostly dry conditions over the area but breezy northeast
to east winds will bring isolated light showers mainly east today through
Thursday. Subtropical Storm Olga is
currently near Hispaniola and it is expected to weaken over the central and
western
During the last week, water levels in most of the upper basin
lakes decreased slightly from evapotranspiration.
Flow has been
reestablished to the
According
to the USACE web site,
The
monthly submerged-aquatic-vegetation (SAV) survey was
completed last week. The macroalga Chara remains
the dominant SAV species and was found at 20 of the
33 sites sampled. This distribution is
similar to that in November, although densities appear to be declining at some
locations. One species of vascular SAV, Vallisneria
St. Lucie Estuary
There
were no releases through S-80 over the past week. Discharge at S-97 on the C-24 Canal averaged
1 cfs.
Discharge at S-49 on the C-23 canal averaged 0.3 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 |
|
7.0 (7.6) |
9.0 (9.1) |
|
HR1 (N. Fork) |
11.7 (9.5 ) |
14.4 (12.8) |
|
|
14.8 (13.3) |
15.7 (13.7) |
8.0 – 25.0 |
A1A Bridge |
23.6 (21.4) |
26.8 (26.4) |
20.0 – 31.0 |
Salinity
increased this week at most monitoring sites.
Both the surface and bottom salinity are in 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 at most monitoring
sites over the past week. Shell Point
was not reporting. 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 |
|
14.8 (13.6) |
15.6 (14.4) |
Rt.
31 Bridge |
14.5 (13.8) |
16.4 (16.1) |
I-75
Bridge |
14.1 (14.0) |
16.9 (17.0) |
|
20.3 (19.1) |
20.4 (20.2) |
|
25.6 (24.0) |
27.7 (27.2) |
Shell
Point |
NA (32.5) |
NA (34.1) |
Salinity
conditions throughout the system remain good seaward of
FWRI reports that water samples collected this week detected background to
low concentrations of Karenia brevis, the
Water Conservation Areas
Excellent (for
wading birds) dry season recession rates continue to dominate the entire
region. Only two regions did not conform
to the general weekly recession pattern of -0.05 ft to -0.16 ft; WCA-3B, where seepage out of WCA-3A
appears to be keeping 3B hydrated, and the center of 2B, where recession rates
are too high because marsh water has a tendency to easily drain to the
East. Although recession rates are GOOD,
the depths in the
Another week of light rainfall brought declining water levels across
Everglades National Park (ENP) wetlands. Water level in Shark River Slough (at P33)
was down by nearly 0.06 ft (following several weeks of little change). In the southern part of the system, water
level declined by 0.07 ft at Craighead Pond.
Stage was also down in the panhandle by 0.06 ft.
Salinity
remained stable across
Water Supply
Water
levels in the upper and lower
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