Researchers will measure estuaries' nutrient changes

COURTESY PHOTO Caloosahatche River In support of the Watershed Protection Plans for the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers, the South Florida Water Management District Governing Board has approved a contract with the University of Massachusetts to study changes in nutrient levels in the rivers' estuaries during the 2009 wet season.

The $260,000 study will involve UMass scientists taking measurements at 50 locations in each estuary for benthic fluxes — exchanges of nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorous, between sediments and the water column. The research will help identify where and when the sediments are a source for nitrogen and phosphorous.

The scientists conducted a similar study during the 2008 dry season in drought-like conditions. The combined data from the two studies will yield information critical to defining the role of sediments in the overall nutrient budgets for the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries, and will support current and future water quality modeling efforts for these systems. Additionally, scientists will be able to identify "hot spots," or areas of particularly high benthic nutrient flux rates, and optimize future sampling efforts. The project is managed by the Coastal Ecosystems Division of the SFWMD Watershed Management Department and is part of the Watershed Research and Water Quality Monitoring Plans for the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries.

"This project is an important companion to the studies done in 2008," said Governing Board member Melissa Meeker. "The data collected will ultimately assist in identifying projects needed to achieve water quality enhancements for both estuaries and watersheds."

In 2007, the Florida Legislature expanded the Lake Okeechobee Protection Act to strengthen protection for the Northern Everglades, including the Lake Okeechobee Watershed and the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie watersheds and estuaries. The Northern Everglades and Estuaries Protection Program recognizes the importance and connectivity of the entire Everglades ecosystem. Implementation of this program will improve the quality, quantity, timing and distribution of water to the natural system by enhancing land management to reduce nutrient runoff and by constructing local and regional water quality and water storage projects.

Since 2000, the state has invested more than $3.8 billion to improve the quality and the natural flow of water in America's Everglades.

For more information about the Northern Everglades and Estuaries Protection Program, visit www.sfwmd.gov/northerneverglades.