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Weeki Wachee River System Recommended Minimum Flows and ...

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The reductions in flow that meet the threshold criteria established in Chapter 6 are<br />

presented in both tabular (Table 8-1) <strong>and</strong> graphic (Figure 8-1) form. There is good<br />

agreement between the low flow <strong>and</strong> high flow evaluations which was expected<br />

because of the relatively narrow range <strong>and</strong> constant nature of springflow. The most<br />

conservative reduction is a 4.0 percent reduction in adjusted Block 3 flow which is the<br />

result of the 15 ppt volume criterion. The four most conservative reductions range from<br />

4.0 to 8.1 percent flow reduction <strong>and</strong> all involve the 15 ppt salinity isohaline which is the<br />

result of the compressed nature of the system, particularly in the vicinity of isohalines<br />

greater than about 8 ppt. That is, salinities are changing rapidly in the river between<br />

kilometer 0 <strong>and</strong> 0.5. Thus, a relatively small change in flow translates to larger change<br />

in upstream volume or area than similar changes occurring upstream. For example,<br />

under high flow conditions (Block 3) the 14 ppt bottom isohaline is located at<br />

approximately Rkm = 0.24 or very near the mouth. At this location, there are 248,600 m 3<br />

of volume upstream <strong>and</strong> the slope at this location is 124,300 m 3 /km. By contrast, under<br />

the same flow conditions the 2 ppt isohaline occurs at a location where the slope is only<br />

38,100 m 3 /km. It will require only a 0.30 km upstream shift in the location of the 14 ppt<br />

isohaline to reduce the upstream volume by fifteen percent, but it will require a 0.46 km<br />

upstream shift of the 2 ppt isohaline to achieve the same percentage of volume<br />

reduction. In addition to the volume/km slope changes (Figure 3-3) the flow response<br />

term (B 1 – See Table 4-7) in the isohaline regressions is considerably greater for the 14<br />

ppt isohaline than for the 2 ppt isohaline further increasing the sensitivity.<br />

Table 8-1<br />

Summary of <strong>Weeki</strong> <strong>Wachee</strong> MFL Results<br />

Criteria<br />

Flow<br />

Adjusted<br />

Withdrawals<br />

Block 1<br />

Block 3 (1)<br />

Freshwater<br />

Freshwater - Wide Site PHABSIM Yes 12.0% 12.0%<br />

Freshwater - S<strong>and</strong>bag PHABSIM Yes 8.0% 10.0%<br />

Salinity Habitat<br />

2 ppt - Volume 15% Loss in volume Median Yes 10.1% 11.5%<br />

5 ppt - Volume 15% Loss in volume Median Yes 8.5% 9.5%<br />

15 ppt - Volume 15% Loss in volume Median Yes 6.0% 4.2%<br />

2 ppt - Bottom Area 15% Loss in Area Median Yes 15.8% 17.2%<br />

3.5 ppt - Bottom Area 15% Loss in Area Median Yes 14.3% 15.3%<br />

5 ppt - Bottom Area 15% Loss in Area Median Yes 12.9% 13.7%<br />

11.5 ppt - Bottom Area 15% Loss in Area Median Yes 9.9% 9.4%<br />

15 ppt - Bottom Area 15% Loss in Area Median Yes 8.2% 5.5%<br />

Benthos<br />

Shannon-Wiener H' 15% Loss in peak Median No 12.8% 14.1%<br />

# Taxa 15% Loss in peak Median No 10.4% 11.5%<br />

Total Abundance 15% Loss in peak Median No 9.1% 10.0%<br />

Mollusc Abundance<br />

Polymesoda Caroliniana (n/m 2 ) 15% Loss in peak Median No 7.3% 8.1%<br />

Crassostrea Virginica (n/m 2 ) 15% Loss in peak Median No 8.2% 9.1%<br />

Littoraria irrorata (n/m 2 ) 15% Loss in peak Median No 8.8% 9.8%<br />

(Bold red italic = based on extended interpolation into Gulf without bracketing values.)<br />

MFL_Summary. xls<br />

(1) Freshwater Block 2 Results<br />

____________________________________________________________________________________________<br />

Proposed <strong>Minimum</strong> <strong>Flows</strong> <strong>and</strong> Levels for <strong>Weeki</strong> <strong>Wachee</strong> <strong>River</strong><br />

Conclusions <strong>and</strong> Recommendations Page 114 of 164

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