Weeki Wachee River System Recommended Minimum Flows and ...

3.1.3 Segmentation
Segmentation was loosely based on cumulative river volumes (see prior section) from
the respective headwater springs (Weeki Wachee and Mud Springs). The smoothed
curves were used to estimate the river kilometers representing 10 equal volumes. This
preliminary segmentation scheme was then converted to a GIS layer and overlain with
the locations of the water quality stations. Segment boundaries were adjusted to more
evenly distribute the number of stations within the segments. The final segmentation
scheme is given within Figure 3-4.
Figure 3-4
Weeki Wachee and Mud River Segmentation Scheme
0
1 2 3 4
5
10
6
11
12
7
Segment Begin End System
0 -5.20 0.00 Weeki
1 0.00 0.35 Weeki
2 0.35 0.53 Weeki
3 0.35 0.82 Weeki
4 0.82 1.25 Weeki
5 1.25 1.91 Weeki
6 1.91 2.92 Weeki
7 2.92 4.46 Weeki
8 4.46 6.81 Weeki
9 6.81 >6.81 Weeki
10 1.42 2.28 Mud
11 2.28 3.15 Mud
12 3.15 >3.15 Mud
8
9
3.2 Sediments & Bottom habitats
The lower portions of the river have a submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) community
which has been recently characterized by Estevez and Leverone (2005). This survey
was limited to approximately 2.5 km (1.6 mi) from the mouth, but previous reports by
Matteson (1995), Frazer (2001) and Clewell et al. (2002) describe the bottom vegetation
from the Gulf to the head spring where fresh-water SAV is prevalent. Freshwater
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Proposed Minimum Flows and Levels for Weeki Wachee River Page 42 of 164
Estuary Characteristics