In April 2001 a cooperative monitoring network commenced implementing the CHNEP Long Term Monitoring Strategy through a probabilistic stratified, random designed water quality monitoring program in upper Charlotte Harbor, the tidal Peace and Myakka Rivers and Lemon Bay. The Southwest Florida Water Management District, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission-Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Department of Environmental Protection-Charlotte Harbor Aquatic Preserves, and Charlotte County participate in this program. (A map of the region each agency serves is available.) This program has divided upper Charlotte Harbor into 5 strata:
1. tidal Peace River,
2. tidal Myakka River,
3. west wall of Charlotte Harbor,
4. east wall of Charlotte Harbor and
5. Placida area of Charlotte Harbor, and lower Lemon Bay within Charlotte County. This latter stratum extends from the Tom Adams Bridge to Englewood Beach, south to the Boca Grande Causeway at Placida.
Lee County, the Cities of Cape Coral and Sanibel, DEP-Charlotte Harbor Aquatic Preserves and the South Florida Water Management District expanded this program into the southern Charlotte Harbor region in Spring 2002. This expansion consists of six additional strata:
1. the Bokeelia region around northern Pine Island and southern Charlotte Harbor,
2. Pine Island Sound,
3. Matlacha Pass,
4. tidal Caloosahatchee River,
5. Estero Bay and
6. San Carlos Bay.
Five randomly chosen sites within each stratum are sampled each month for the marine core analytes within the NEP CCMP:
MARINE/COASTAL/ESTUARINE/TIDAL RIVERS CORE ANALYTES FOR WATER QUALITY:
Analyte/Parameter
PAR (light attenuation, k)
Secchi disc
temperature
salinity
specific conductance
dissolved oxygen
pH
color (PCU)
turbidity (NTU)
total suspended solids
Analyte/Parameter
Total organic carbon
chlorophyll-a (corrected for phaeophytin)
total nitrogen
total Kjeldahl nitrogen
total ammonia nitrogen
total nitrite+nitrate nitrogen
dissolved orthophosphate
total phosphorus
Five additional sites are re-randomly chosen the following month. This allows an equal opportunity of sampling all sites within a stratum at all times of the year within the agencies’ temporal sampling protocols. In addition, if a site is 3 meters or deeper, a bottom and top sample is taken to incorporate the possible stratification of the water column.
This program uses the FWC-FWRI Fisheries Independent Monitoring Program grid system to allow managers to ultimately compare water quality and fisheries data. The Network obtains 30 samples per season and 60 samples per year per stratum (5 sites per month x 6 months per season x 2 seasons per year), meeting U.S. EPA’s Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program’s (EMAP) requirements. The program design should allow results approximating normal distribution and allow parametric statistical analysis for analyses of means between strata, between seasons (wet and dry) and between years.
The overall program manager for this Network is the Senior Scientist of the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program. Questions or concerns regarding this Network should be directed to Judy Ott, Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program, 1926 Victoria Avenue, Fort Myers, FL 33901; telephone 239/338-2556 ext 230 and email jott@swfrpc.org.
