Assessment of Estuarine Water and Sediment Quality at Fort Matanzas National Monuments: 2017 Data Summary

Wright, Wendy; Starkey, Eric; Cooper, Stephen

doi:10.36967/2259086

In August 2017 the Southeast Coast Network conducted an assessment of water quality in the vicinity of Fort Matanzas National Monument as part of the National Park Service Vital Signs Monitoring Program. Monitoring was conducted following methods developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as part of the National Coastal Assessment Program (EPA 2009). Laboratory analysis measured chlorophyll a and total and dissolved concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorous. Field measurements included water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, and salinity. Water clarity, which requires a Secchi depth measurement, was calculated when possible. All measured parameters were rated as good, fair, or poor based on thresholds set by the EPA (2012). Water clarity was rated good at four sites (13%), fair at nine sites (30%) and poor at seventeen sites (57%) Chlorophyll a concentration was rated good at nine sites (30%). Nineteen sites (63%) sampled in 2017 were rated fair, and two sites (7%) were poor. Dissolved inorganic nitrogen concentration was good at nineteen sites (63%), and fair at the remaining eleven sites (37%). Dissolved inorganic phosphorus concentration was fair at twenty-seven sites (90%), and good at three sites (10%). Dissolved oxygen concentration was rated good at 37%of sites (eleven of thirty sites) and fair at nineteen sites (63%). A water-quality condition summary index was calculated for each site sampled in Fort Matanzas National Monument based on the categorical assessments of chlorophyll a, DIN and DIP concentrations, and dissolved oxygen. This summary index indicated good water-quality conditions at one site (3%), fair conditions at twenty-four sites (80%), and poor at five sites (17%). Based on the summary water-quality index rating for the monument, overall water quality conditions in Fort Matanzas National Monument in August 2017 were fair. For sediment, ecological condition was ranked as “Good” across all of the sampled locations. As a result, no adverse impacts to benthic organisms due to sediment contamination are anticipated at any of the 30 sample sites. These rankings were assigned according to the 2010 Environmental Protection Agency, National Coastal Condition Assessment (NCCA) thresholds for sediment chemistry.

Assessment of Estuarine Water and Sediment Quality at Fort Matanzas National Monuments: 2017 Data Summary

Series

Collections