Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program
Quarterly Environmental Monitoring Summary
April 1 through June 30, 2005
High flows from Peace and Myakka. Degraded water quality except for dissolved oxygen. Increasing numbers of fish kills through quarter.
Water Flows:
| Peace River Basin | Much higher than normal (by multiple times) |
| Myakka River | Much higher than normal (by multiple times) |
| Caloosahatchee | Normal (exceeding minimum flows then increasing for the wet season) |
| Estero Tributaries | Normal |
Peace and Myakka Rivers continued to have much higher flows than normal for the dry season, usually exceeding wet season flows. Caloosahatchee flows normal.
April-June Water Quality:
| Charlotte Harbor Proper/Lemon Bay | |
| Temperature | Normal |
| Salinity | Lower than normal |
| Color | Normal |
| Chlorophyll a | Slightly worse than normal |
| Total Nitrogen | Slightly worse than normal, with a high load in lower Myakka in April and Peace in June |
| Phosphorous | Worse than normal, especially lower Myakka in April and Peace in June |
| Dissolved Oxygen | Slightly better than normal |
| Near Bottom Dissolved Oxygen | Better than normal |
| Secchi Depth | Slightly worse than normal |
| Turbidity | Worse than normal |
Water Quality was generally worse than normal ranges except for dissolved oxygen.
Habitat:
| Red Tide | Not present to very low (background levels) |
| Fish Kills | Normal 1 fish kill in April, then increasing to numerous fish kills |
| Fish Lesions | None |
| Other kills | None |
| Sewage Spills | None |
| Shellfishing | All areas closed. |
| Seagrasses | Stable totals of seagrass in Charlotte Harbor and Lemon Bay. 2003 map from South Florida Water Management District is close to being distributed. |
Shell fishing beds closed. Increasing fish kills.