Assessment of estuarine water and sediment quality at Canaveral National Seashore: 2019 data summary

Starkey, Eric; McCay, Daniel; Cooper, Christopher

In July 2019 the Southeast Coast Network conducted an assessment of water quality at Canaveral National Seashore-Mosquito Lagoon 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 2010). 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 obtained when possible. All measured parameters were rated as good, fair, or poor based on thresholds set by the EPA (2012). Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number. • Water clarity was rated good at one site (3%), fair at four sites (13%) poor at twenty-two sites (73%) and could not be sampled at three sites (10.0%). • Chlorophyll a concentration was rated fair at sixteen sites (53%), and poor at fourteen sites (47%). • Dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) concentration was good at all thirty sites (100%). • Dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) concentration was good at all thirty sites (100%). • Dissolved oxygen concentration (bottom) was rated good at twenty-four sites (80%) and fair at six sites (20%). • A water-quality condition summary index was calculated for each site sampled in Canaveral National Seashore based on the categorical assessments of chlorophyll a, DIN and DIP concentrations, dissolved oxygen, and water clarity. This summary index indicated good water-quality conditions at one site (3.3%), fair conditions at 16 sites (53.3%) and poor conditions at thirteen sites (43.3%). • Based on the summary water-quality index rating, overall water-quality conditions at Canaveral National Seashore during sampling in 2019 were poor. This rating is due to more than 20% of sites being ranked as having poor water-quality conditions generally resulting from low water clarity and elevated chlorophyll a. • Ecological condition, as determined by sediment quality, was rated as good at thirty sites (100%). As a result, no adverse impacts to benthic organisms due to sediment contamination are anticipated at any of the sampled sites. This rating was 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 Canaveral National Seashore: 2019 data summary

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