m e m o r a n d u m to: from: sfwmd staff environmental ... · everglades about an inch of rain...

Disclaimer: Information contained in the report addresses environmental conditions only and is not the official South Florida Water Management District operations recommendation or decision.

M E M O R A N D U M TO: John Mitnik, Chief, Engineering and Construction Bureau Paul Linton, Administrator, Water Control Operations Section FROM: SFWMD Staff Environmental Advisory Team DATE: February 9, 2016 SUBJECT: Weekly Environmental Conditions for Systems Operations Summary Kissimmee On Sunday, stage in East Lake Toho was 0.5 feet below schedule and Toho was 0.6 feet below schedule; Kissimmee-Cypress-Hatchineha (KCH) was 0.5 feet below schedule. Discharge from East Toho, Toho, and KCH is being managed to hold Lake stages 0.2 - 0.5 feet below their respective regulation schedules while in KCH following the discharge ramp up/ramp down rates for S65/S65A as possible. Over the past week, discharge at S65 averaged 3,248 cfs and at S65A 3,772 cfs; discharge at S65E averaged 2,987 cfs over the past week. Tuesday morning discharges: S65 ~2,290 cfs; S65A ~2,350 cfs; S65C ~4,435 cfs; S65E ~6,090 cfs. Dissolved oxygen in the Kissimmee River averaged 5.85 mg/L over the past week and 6.38 mg/L on Sunday. Kissimmee River mean floodplain depth is currently 2.19 feet. Lake Okeechobee The reversal in Lake stage is continuing (0.18 feet in the last week). The Lake is at 16.37 feet NGVD and is in the Intermediate Flow Sub-band. Ecological conditions for wading birds, snail kites, and species in the nearshore region continue to decline. Field scientists note that nearshore submerged aquatic vegetation SAV) has declined at monitoring sites since November. Much of the SAV at the marsh edge is close to or is totally submerged. Estuaries High discharges continued over the past week, resulting in further reductions in estuarine salinities. In the St. Lucie Estuary, total freshwater inflow averaged 6,266 cfs with 2,370 cfs Lake Okeechobee releases. Salinities were in the poor range for adult oysters in the mid-estuary. In the Caloosahatchee Estuary, total freshwater inflow averaged 11,486 cfs with 5,556 cfs Lake Okeechobee releases. Salinities were in the poor range at Cape Coral, fair range at Shell Point, and good range at Sanibel for adult oysters. Salinities were in the good range for tape grass in the upper Caloosahatchee Estuary.

Stormwater Treatment Areas Over the past week, the STAs/FEBs received 0 acre-feet of Lake regulatory releases. The total amount of Lake releases sent to the STAs/FEBs in WY2016 (since May 1) is approximately 174,000 acre-feet. Over the past week, the STAs received high volumes of basin runoff. All STA cells are at or above target depths and restrictions remain in place for structure repairs in STA-1E and vegetation rehabilitation in STA-1W. This week, it is recommended that no Lake releases be sent to the STAs/FEBs. When conditions allow, releases will be made from the A-1 FEB to STA-2 and STA-3/4 to create storage in the FEB for future rainfall/runoff events.

Everglades About an inch of rain fell over the Everglades, and with combined rain and water management, stages changed from -0.29 feet to 0.43 feet. Water levels are at least two feet deep in most of the wetlands. Most of WCA-2A and -3A remain closed because of high water and its effects on terrestrial wildlife. The areas will reopen only after stages fall by at least 0.45 feet. Deep water has prevented wading bird foraging, and almost no birds are nesting in the WCAs and Everglades National Park (ENP). The 30-day salinity at the Florida Bay Minimum Flows and Levels (MFL) site remains a seasonally normal 1 psu while the cumulative inflow from the five creeks into Florida Bay increased to 224,100 acre-feet. Florida Bay salinities are within five psu of their averages for this time of year. Southern WCA-3A stages have exceeded 2.5 feet, the stage monitored for tree island inundation and duration, for twelve weeks and the other gauges used for the three-gauge average now also exceed 2.5 feet for a second week. Weather Conditions and Forecast A chilly and mostly dry week as we get an extended break from El Niño enhanced systems. A reinforcing cold front moved through the District overnight and strong northwest to west winds will blow a few very light showers inland along the west coast today and this evening. A series of dry reinforcing troughs/fronts will zip through the District and maintain chilly and dry conditions through the weekend. Some light showers will accompany the front that moves through the District Saturday. Near freezing temperatures are expected over northern and interior areas of the District Wednesday and Thursday mornings. KISSIMMEE BASIN Kissimmee Basin Rainfall The Upper Kissimmee Basin received 0.82 inches of rainfall in the past week and the Lower Basin received 1.20 inches (SFWMD Daily Rainfall Report 2/8/2016). Upper Kissimmee Basin Stages and departures in the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes (KCOL) are shown in Table1. Table 1. Departures from KCOL flood regulation (F) or temporary schedules (T, A, or S) (feet NGVD). Discharge and stage data are provisional real-time data from SFWMD OASyS DualTrend; reported values are averages through midnight of the Sunday prior to the report date unless otherwise specified.

Lower Kissimmee Basin Discharges and stages at Lower Basin structures are shown in Table 2. SFWDAT depth maps for the Phase I restoration area are shown in Figure 11. Kissimmee River floodplain stages at selected stations are shown in Figure 12. Table 2. Mean weekly discharge at S-65x structures, and mean weekly Phase I area river channel dissolved oxygen and floodplain mean water depth. Discharge and stage data are provisional real-time data from SFWMD OASyS DualTrend; reported values are averages through midnight of the Sunday prior to the report date unless otherwise specified.

Water Management Recommendations

KCOL Hydrographs (through Sunday midnight)

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

Figure 4.

Figure 5.

Figure 6.

Figure 7.

Figure 8a. Limits on rate of discharge change at S65/S65A during F&W recession for dry season 2015-2016. Table 2 is from the 2015-2016 Dry Season Standing Recommendation.

Figure 8b. Interim operations schedule for S-65. The discharge schedule shown to the right has not been used in recent years or in Wet Season 2015.

Figure 9. S-65C headwater stage in relation to discharge at S-65C, S-65A, and PC62.

Figure 10. Mean daily Dissolved Oxygen, discharge, temperature and rainfall in the Phase I river channel.

Insert A. Phase I river channel Dissolved Oxygen (measured at 15 minute intervals) and rainfall at S65A and S65C.

Figure 11. Phase I area floodplain water depths for this week, one month ago, and two months ago. Note that the WDAT color-coding has been modified to accommodate greater

water depths; these maps are not directly comparable to Kissimmee Basin WDAT maps published prior to Jan. 16, 2012.

Kissimmee River Hydrographs

Figure 12. Discharge at S65, stages at five monitoring stations in the Phase I area of the Kissimmee River floodplain, and headwater stage at S65-C since January 1, 2013. The most recent data (~2

weeks) are provisional real-time data from SFWMD DualTrend; previous data are from SFWMD DB-HYDRO (validated). Dashed lines are ground elevations.

Figure 13. The Kissimmee Basin

LAKE OKEECHOBEE According to the USACE web site, Lake Okeechobee stage is at 16.37 feet NGVD for the period ending at midnight on February 1, 2016. This value is based on the use of four interior Lake stations (L001, L005, L006, and LZ40) and four perimeter stations (S352, S4, S308 and S133). Lake stage increased by 0.18 feet over the past week. The Lake is now 1.61 feet higher than it was a month ago and 1.64 feet higher than it was a year ago (Figure 1). The Lake is now in the Intermediate Flow Sub-band (Figure 2). According to RAINDAR, 1.01 inches of rain fell directly over the Lake during the past seven days. Similar amounts of rain fell in portions of the northern, western and southern watershed while slightly higher amounts fell in the eastern and remaining northern, western and southern portions of the watershed (Figure 3). Based on USACE reported values, current Lake inflow is approximately 9,801 cfs, consisting of flows as indicated below.

Structure Flow cfs

S65E 5293

S154 145

S84 & 84X 834

S71 776

S72 456

C5(Nicodemus slough dispersed storage)

-158

S191 555

S133 PUMPS 129

S127 PUMPS 113

S129 PUMPS 83

S131 PUMPS 32

S135 PUMPS 176

Fisheating Creek 1289

S2 Pumps 0

S3 Pumps 0

S4 Pumps 78

Current Lake outflow is approximately 9,468 cfs exiting through S77 (6,230 cfs), and S308 (3,238 cfs). Corrected evapotranspiration value this past week was not available. Change in elevation equivalents and average weekly flows for major structures are presented in Figure 4. Based on the Lake Okeechobee wading bird habitat suitability index, there are currently approximately 12,850 acres of potentially suitable foraging habitat on the Lake for long-legged wading birds and 2,365 acres of potentially suitable foraging habitat for short-legged wading birds, a decrease of 23% and 20% over the past week, respectively (Figure 5). The last wading bird foraging survey on February 4, 2016 located only one flock of 80 birds foraging on the Lake, the lowest number since surveys were re-initiated in 2010. MODIS images from February 1 and 5 suggest that that there is currently no bloom activity on the Lake (Figure 6). Colored pixels adjacent to cloud cover are considered to be the result of edge effect.


The winter/spring dry season recession has been stalled for the past two months and with an increase of 0.18 feet this past week, the reversal of the past three weeks now totals 1.59 feet. Future short-term recommendations will depend in large measure on the near-term rainfall patterns and amounts. Actions which contribute to stopping the reversal in Lake stage and restarting the recession are essential to protect critical components of the Lake’s floral (bulrush and SAV) and faunal (wading birds, snail kites and fish) communities. The operational goal continues to be to maintain a small but steady decrease in water levels not to exceed 1.0 feet per month (0.24 feet/week) to achieve a Lake stage of approximately 12.5 feet NGVD by the end of the dry season and avoid additional reversals in Lake stage.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

INFLOWS Average Daily Flow Past

Week cfs Feet of Change Past

Week

S65E 4228 0.133

S71 & 72 852 0.027

S84 & 84X 1533 0.048

Fisheating Creek 2674 0.084

Rainfall N.A. 0.093

OUTFLOWS Average Daily Flow Past

Week cfs Feet of Change Past

Week

S77 3840 0.120

S308 2819 0.088

S351 0 0.000

S352 0 0.000

S354 0 0.000

L8 32 0.001

ET N.A. N.A.

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Lake Istokpoga Lake Istokpoga stage is 39.28 feet NGVD today and is currently 0.22 feet below its regulation schedule of 39.50 feet NGVD, which remains at peak high pool (Figure 7). Average flows into the Lake from Arbuckle and Josephine creeks were 798 and 260 cfs respectively, an overall decrease of 15% compared to the preceding week. Average discharge from S68 and S68X this past week was 1,405 cfs, a decrease of 40% compared to the preceding week. According to RAINDAR, 1.11 inches of rain fell in the Lake Istokpoga watershed during the past seven days.

Figure 7

ESTUARIES St. Lucie Estuary Over the past week, provisional flows averaged 4,117 cfs at S-80, 2,370 cfs at S-308, 704 cfs at S-49 on C-24, 686 cfs at S-97 on C-23, and 234 cfs from Ten Mile Creek at the Gordy Road Structure. Average inflow from tidal basin tributaries is estimated to be 525 cfs (Figures 1 and 2). Total inflow averaged about 6,266 cfs last week and 4,379 cfs over last month.

Over the past week, surface salinity decreased throughout the estuary (Table 1, Figures 3 and 4). The seven-day moving average salinity of the water column at the US1 Bridge is below the envelope. Salinity conditions in the middle estuary are in the poor range for the adult eastern oyster.

Table 1. Seven-day average salinity at three monitoring stations in the St. Lucie Estuary. Current average is in bold face type, previous average in parentheses. The envelope reflects the preferred salinity range for adult eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) in the middle estuary.

Sampling Site Surface Bottom Envelope HR1 (N. Fork) 0.3 (1.0) 0.5 (4.8) NA1 US1 Bridge 0.7 (2.0) 1.1 (2.3) 10.0-26.0 A1A Bridge 4.0 (5.1) 15.4 (10.4) NA

1Envelope not applicable, 2Not Reporting

Caloosahatchee Estuary During the past week, provisional flows averaged approximately 5,556 cfs at S-77, 7,229 cfs at S-78, and 10,066 cfs at S-79. Average inflow from tidal basin tributaries is estimated to be 1,420 cfs (Figures 5 and 6). Total inflow averaged 11,486 cfs last week and 8,075 cfs over last month.

Over the past week, salinity decreased throughout the estuary (Table 2, Figures 7 & 8). The seven-day average salinity values are within the good range for oysters at Sanibel, fair range at Shell Point, and the poor range at Cape Coral (Figure 9). The 30-day moving average surface salinity is 0.4 at Val I-75 and 1.2 at Ft. Myers. Salinity conditions at Val I-75 are in the good range for tape grass.

Table 2. Seven-day average salinity at six monitoring stations in the Caloosahatchee Estuary. Current average is in bold face type, previous average in parentheses. The envelope reflects the preferred salinity range for tape grass (Vallisneria americana) at Val I-75 and for adult eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) elsewhere.

Sampling Site Surface Bottom Envelope

S-79 (Franklin Lock) 0.2 (0.2) 0.2 (0.2) NA1

*Val I75 0.2*(0.2*) 0.2*(0.2*) 0.0-5.02

Ft. Myers Yacht Basin 0.2 (0.2) 0.2 (0.2) NA

Cape Coral 0.2 (1.4) 0.2 (2.1) 10.0-30.0

Shell Point 6.9 (9.3) 10.8 (13.6) 10.0-30.0

Sanibel 18.8 (22.9) 21.6 (25.5) 10.0-30.0 1Envelope not applicable, 2Envelope is based on a 30-day average.

*Val I75 is temporarily offline due to bridge construction. Salinity values are estimated using models developed for this site.

Monitoring data collected by the River, Estuary and Coastal Observing Network of Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation using continuous sensors are summarized in Table 3 as concentration ranges of Chlorophyll a and dissolved oxygen at Beautiful Island, Ft. Myers, and Shell Point in the Caloosahatchee Estuary.

Table 3. Weekly ranges of Chlorophyll a (a measure of algal biomass) and dissolved oxygen concentrations at three monitoring stations maintained by the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation.

RECON Monitoring Stations

Beautiful Island Ft. Myers Shell Point

Chlorophyll a (µg/l) 5.8 – 6.6 5.2 – 6.0 Not Reporting

Dissolved Oxygen (mg/l) 5.5 – 7.2 6.1 – 8.3 Not Reporting

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute reported on February 5, 2016, that there were background to high concentrations of Karenia brevis in 74 samples collected in, along, and offshore of Lee, Charlotte, Sarasota, and Manatee counties. Water Management Recommendations

Given the current estuarine conditions, there are no ecological benefits associated with additional releases from Lake Okeechobee.

Figure 1. Basins, water control structures, and salinity monitoring for the St. Lucie Estuary.

Figure 2. Estimated surface freshwater inflows from Lake Okeechobee and runoff from the C-44,

C-23, C-24, Ten Mile Creek, and tidal basins into the St. Lucie Estuary.

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w (

cfs

)

Inflow from Lake C-44 Basin RunoffInflow from C-24, C23, and Tenmile Creek Tidal Basin Inflow

Data provisional and subject to change

Weekly Average InflowFeb. 2 - Feb. 8, 2016

Inflow from Lake 2370 cfsC-44 Basin Inflow 1747 cfsTenmile Creek 234 cfsC-23 686 cfsC-24 704 cfsTidal Basin Inflow 525 cfsTotal 6266 cfs

Figure 3. Seven-day mean salinity of the water column at the U.S. Highway 1 Bridge.

Figure 4. Daily mean salinity at the A1A, US1 and estimated HR1 stations.

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Seven day mean salinity of the water column at US1 Bridgein the St. Lucie Estuary


Good = 10 - 26

Fair = <10 - 5 or >26 - 32

Poor = < 5 or > 32

Salinity Range for Oysters

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Surface and Bottom Mean Daily Salinity in the St. Lucie Estuary

A1A surface A1A bottom US1 surfaceUS1 bottom HR1 surface HR1 bottom


Figure 5. Basins, water control structures, and salinity monitoring for the Caloosahatchee Estuary.

Figure 6. Freshwater inflows from Lake Okeechobee, runoff from the C-43 basin, and tributaries in

the tidal basin into the Caloosahatchee River Estuary.

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Inflow from Lake C-43 Basin Inflow Tidal Basin Inflow* (downstream of S-79)

Weekly Average InflowFeb. 2 - Feb. 8, 2016

Inflow from Lake: 5556 cfsC-43 Basin Inflow: 4510 cfsTidal Basin Inflow: 1420 cfs

Total : 11486 cfs

Data are provisional and subject to change

Figure 7. Daily mean flows at S-79 and salinity at upper estuary monitoring stations

(A) and 30-day moving average salinity at Ft. Myers (B).

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Ft. Myers: Daily Mean Surface Salinity Ft. Myers: 30 Day Mean Surface Salinity S79 Flow

A 30-day salinity value above 10 exceeds

MFL criteria


A daily salinity value above 20 exceeds

MFL criteria

A

B

Figure 8. Daily mean flows at S-79 and salinity at lower estuary stations.

Figure 9. Seven-day mean salinity at Cape Coral Bridge, Shell Point and Sanibel Bridge

monitoring stations.

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Cape Coral: Shell Point: Sanibel S79 Flow


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Cape Coral Shell Point Sanibel


Good = 10 - 30

Fair = <10 - 5 or >30 - 35

Poor = < 5 or > 35

Salinity Range for Oysters

Seven-day mean salinity of the water column at 3 monitoring stations in the Caloosahatchee Estuary

GREATER EVERGLADES Last week, rainfall in the Everglades was about an inch throughout the basins. The local maximum rainfall was 1.98 inches in WCA-3A. Over the week, stage changes ranged from -0.29 feet to 0.43 feet. At 1.08 inches, pan evaporation exceeded the pre-project average of 0.94 inches.

Everglades

Region

Rainfall

(Inches)

Stage

Change

(feet)

WCA-1 0.93 -0.29

WCA-2A 1.00 0.43

WCA-2B 1.30 0.00

WCA-3A 1.18 0.18

WCA-3B 1.02 0.03

ENP 0.91 -0.09

Regulation Schedules: Stages fell in WCA-1 this week but rose again at the other regulation schedule sites; all regulation schedules are in their descending or stable phase and wetland stages are well above regulation. The WCA-1 stage is 0.33 feet above regulation, the WCA-2A stage is 3.38 feet above regulation, and the three-gauge average stage in WCA-3A is 1.02 feet above regulation. The northwestern WCA-3A gauge stage (gauge 62) rose again to 0.87 feet above regulation.

Water Depths and Changes: Water levels in the WCAs and ENP are much higher than those one and two months ago. Most areas outside of ENP are now close to or above two feet deep. Water depths at the monitored gauges other than WCA-2B range from 1.80 feet to 3.49 feet. Stages at gauge 65 in southern WCA-3A have exceeded 2.5 feet, the stage of note for tree island inundation-duration, for 12 weeks (now 3.49 feet deep). Stages at gauges 63 and 64 have exceeded 2.5 feet for two weeks. Stages are generally higher than a week ago, and close to two feet or more above those a month ago and a year ago. Individual stage gauges changed from -0.43 feet to +0.43 feet.

Wading Bird Status: A University of Florida survey found 26 snail kites in WCA-3A, 19 in ENP, and one in the L-31 canal. No breeding activity was observed. Wading bird surveys were conducted by the SFWMD last week. Nesting surveys of WCAs 1, -3A, and northern ENP located only a few nesting great blue herons. These observations indicate that nesting is unlikely to commence soon in these

areas. Foraging surveys conducted in WCAs -1, -2, -3, and ENP found high water levels and no foraging birds. Wood storks are reported to be dying in southwestern Florida preserves, possibly from starvation resulting from high water. Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow: Nearly all of the Sparrow habitats are completely inundated as of February 7. Their breeding season generally starts around March 1 when their habitat is dry.

Everglades National Park (ENP) and Florida Bay: Water levels continue to slowly rise and are higher than last week and a month ago. Water levels were 22 inches above average in northern Taylor Slough and seven to nine inches above average in the southern areas. The higher than average rainfall is causing water levels to continue to rise when the system is usually drying down and historic averages slowly decrease.

Salinities were mostly stable away from the shoreline in Florida Bay last week with weekly changes less than two psu at these stations. The nearshore area decreases were larger in the central and western nearshore embayments, which decreased by 7.5 psu over the week. Salinities in the bay range from 13 to 33 psu. Compared to historic averages, these values range from average (Whipray Basin in central Florida Bay) to 12 psu below average (Garfield Bight in the western nearshore embayments). The daily average salinity at the MFL sentinel site of TR was 0.5 psu on February 7, below the seasonal average of 2.7 psu. The seasonal average will be rising from now through June. The 30-day moving average salinity remained at one psu, still typical for this time of year.

The 365-day running sum of the cumulative flow from the five creeks flowing into Florida Bay rose to 224,061 acre-feet (87 % of the WY1997-2014 average of 257,628 acre-feet). Daily differences in the 365-day running sum of the cumulative flow from these creeks represent the difference between current daily flow and flow a year ago. The weekly (February 1 to 7) cumulative flow from the five creeks was 16,945 acre-feet, about 15,700 acre-feet higher than average for this time of year. January flows from the creeks totaled 38,772 acre-feet, almost 30,000 acre-feet above an average January.


• Until WCAs 2A and 3A are open again (below 11.60 feet), no additional discharges should be made into these WCAs because of high stages (now 12.03 feet).

• Water levels at gauge 65 have exceeded 2.5 feet, the stage monitored for tree island inundation and duration, for 12 weeks (now 3.5 feet deep). Gauges 64 and 63 have exceeded 2.5 feet for two weeks.

• Conditions are too wet, too deep, and too variable for wading birds, so expectations should be low for their nesting effort and breeding success this year. As conditions improve, manage for recession rates through the end of May to support foraging.

• We recommend moving as much water as possible south into ENP to Florida Bay to maintain seasonably normal hydrological conditions.

Site-specific recommendations appear in the summary table below. The red text represents new or modified information or recommendations.

Area Current Condition Cause(s) Recommendation Reasons

WCA-1

Stages changed

from -0.18' to -0.43'

Rainfall, ET,

management

Match inflows with outflows to achieve regulation

schedule recession while allowing water levels to

reflect variation in annual rainfall. Prevent

repeated or ongoing reversals as much as

possible.

Keep peat wet to promote native habitat and maintain wetland

plant and animal communities. Provide moderate recession rates

to support wading bird foraging, necessary for successful nesting.

WCA-2A

Stage increased

0.43'

Rainfall, ET,

management

Lower stages. Prevent repeated or ongoing

reversals as much as possible.



to support wading bird foraging, necessary for successful nesting..

WCA-2B

Stage changed from

0.00' to -0.01'

Rainfall, ET,

managementFollow normal seasonal practices.

High stages generally preclude wading bird use, but can provide

good habitat for wading bird foraging as stages decline at the end

of the dry season.

WCA-3A NEStage changed 0.09'

Rainfall, ET,

management

WCA-3A NW

Stage changed

+0.14'

Rainfall, ET,

management

Central

WCA-3A SStage changed 0.26'

Rainfall, ET,

management

Southern

WCA-3A SStage changed 0.24'

Rainfall, ET,

management

WCA-3B

Stages changed

from -0.01' to 0.06'

Rainfall, ET,

management

Follow normal seasonal practices. Prevent

repeated or ongoing reversals as much as

possible.



to support wading bird foraging and nesting.

ENP-SRS

Stage changed -

0.09'

ET, rainfall,

topography,

management

Make discharges to the Park according to the

ERTP rainfall plan.


plant and animal communities.

ENP-CSSS

habitats

S-12A and S-12B

are closed to

enhance pre-

breeding dry-down

Rainfall, ET,

management

Follow rainfall plan for releases. Adhere to ERTP

closures for S12-A and B. Maximize flows

through S333 as possible.

Provide habitat and appropriate nesting conditions for CSSS.

Taylor

Slough

7-22 inches above

average

Rain, ET,

inflowsMove water southward as possible

Provide freshwater buffer for ecosystems and maintain low salinity

conditions downstream

FB- Salinity

Average to -12 psu

of average

Rain, ET,

inflows, windMove water southward as possible Maintain lower salinity levels.

Summary of Everglades Recommendations, Feb. 9, 2016 (SFWMD) (red is new text)



to support wading bird foraging and nesting.

Northern WCA-3A and WCA-2A have been closed to the public

because of high water effects on wildlife. These areas cannot

accept more water until stages decline below 11.60' average of

gauges 62 and 63. Keep peat wet to promote native habitat and

maintain wetland plant and animal communities. Provide

moderate recession rates to support wading bird foraging and

nesting.

WCA-2A and northern WCA-3A cannot

accept inflow because of high water.

Attempt to lower stages throughout the

WCAs.

Prevent repeated or ongoing reversals. Stages

at gauge 65 have exceeded 2.5' since Nov. 23

(12 weeks, now 3`.5') and have now exceeded

2.5' at gauges 64 and 63 for 2 weeks.

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