The St. Lucie Estuary and southern Indian River Lagoon saw a decline in habitat health this week as freshwater inflows more than doubled, lowering salinity levels and nudging overall conditions from a C grade on Sept. 24 to a C- on Oct. 1. The latest report covers the week of Sept. 29, 2025.
Monitoring data showed inflows rising from 1,049 cubic feet per second to 2,341 cfs over the week, while discharges from Lake Okeechobee remained at zero.
The surge in inflows pushed salinity from poor-to-good levels on Sept. 24 down to poor-to-fair by Oct. 1…