On 11/18/21 Lake Okeechobee was at 16.00 feet increasing by 0.01 feet in the past week. The weekly average flow at S-79 was 2,168 cfs (cubic feet per second) this week and flow from the Lake at S-77 was an average of 858 cfs. The 14-day average flow on 11/18/21 was 2,720 cfs and has been in the damaging flow envelope (>2,600 cfs) for 2 days and above the optimal flow envelope for 11 days.

For more information on Lake Okeechobee and estuary conditions go to the latest Caloosahatchee Conditions Report

Satellite imagery over the past week has shown low to moderate concentrations of chlorophyll off the coast of Southwest Florida. Karenia brevis and/or other algal species may be contributing to the chlorophyll concentrations.

No Karenia brevis was detected in FWC samples in Lee County. Low concentrations of K. brevis were detected in samples from Pinellas (3 samples) and Sarasota (1 sample) counties. The Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW) on Sanibel received 21 birds with toxicosis symptoms (from red tide or blue-green algae) from 11/7/21 - 11/15/21.

The FWC fish kill hotline received no reports of fish kills in Southwest Florida due to red tide over the past week.

No cyanobacteria was present in the Caloosahatchee over the past week. Over the past week, satellite imagery showed low to medium bloom potential along the northwest and southwest shorelines in Lake Okeechobee.

Happy Thanksgiving from the SCCF family to yours. We will be taking a break from the water conditions update next week to spend time with our families, but we will take a look back over the conditions when we return. We are grateful for your support and interest in water quality and conservation!

To learn more about our current water conditions, click on the following links:

A collaborative, weekly analysis, including recommendations for water managers regarding Lake Okeechobee flows.

SCCF's River, Estuary, and Coastal Observing Network is a network of eight optical water quality sensors deployed throughout the Caloosahatchee and the Pine Island Sound estuary to provide real-time water quality data.

Algae Reporting App.

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