Water Quality

Bird's eye view of park waters and seagrass beds (NPS image)

Since 1990 the National Park Service has gathered water quality data with remote sensing systems. The data is collected at six locations that measure specific conductivity, dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, turbidity and tide height. In 1997, twelve locations were added to support the Army Corps of Engineers and their computerized circulation model for Biscayne Bay.

Water sampling increases our understanding of the Biscayne Bay hydrological system and provides reliable data for park resource managers to utilize. The data reveals trends, seasonal highs and lows, weather patterns, temperature fluctuations, overland flow rates and surface runoff from the land and drainage canals.