City of Venice discharge ambient water quality and benthic monitoring.

Abstract

This report describes a water quality monitoring project conducted in Venice, Florida. Water parameters and depths were established through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Sampling was done at three stations in the intracoastal waterway and collected during daylight at slack low tide on the morning of August 27, 1998. At each station, air temperature, cloud cover and antecedent rainfall was recorded. The direction of flow was noted and the time and height of predicted tides at Venice Inlet recorded. Aquatic life, foam, floatables and other conditions were noted. At each station, pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature and conductivity were recorded within one foot of the surface, within one foot of the bottom and at mid-depth. Salinity was derived from the conductivity measurements, while chlorinity was estimated from the salinity value. Water samples that were collected at mid-depth at each station were analyzed for the following parameters: total Kjeldahl nitrogen, nitrite and nitrate nitrogen, total nitrogen, orthophosphorus, hydrogen sulfide, total phosphorus, and total suspended solids. Macroinvertebrate communities were also sampled at each station. Faunal similarity and cluster analysis was conducted on the faunal data to examine similarities in community structure among the three sampling stations. Observations were recorded and results described.