Curry Creek Condition Report for 2024

Caution
Rating icon - Chlorophyll a Rating icon - Total Nitrogen Rating icon - Total Phosphorous Rating icon - Dissolved Oxygen Saturation

3 out of 4 indicators were rated as PASS.

All four indicators must pass for the creek to be rated as PASS.

Learn more about how this report is created

  • Size: 6,399 acres
  • Location: Central Sarasota County
  • Discharges into: Roberts Bay (Venice)

For more information, please see: Curry Creek Basin Master Plan Update, Venice County Model (2001)

View county-wide water quality trends »

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Curry Creek

Curry Creek
Visit the Curry Creek water resource page »

Water Chemistry Ratings | Freshwater Portion of the Creek

Creek Conditions Ratings are based on comparing nitrogen, phosphorus, chlorophyll and dissolved oxygen to water quality guidelines or regulations. Florida law defines a maximum allowable concentration of nitrogen, phosphorus, and chlorophyll a, and a minimum allowable concentration of dissolved oxygen in these streams. Learn more about these ratings and how they are calculated »

Data for the following WBIDs is averaged when compiling the data below:
  • 2009
  • 2009B
  • 2009C
  • 2016
Chart Legend
  • Trend Line
  • Annual Mean
  • Threshold
Pass

Chlorophyll a

Score: Pass
Units: ug/l Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 126.00 132.00
Mean 10.10 8.7909 16.43849
Low 1.34 0.25
No. of Samples 30 996

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean
Pass

Nitrogen, Total

Score: Pass
Units: mg/L Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 1.979 3.155
Mean 1.1389 1.064 0.39762988
Low 0.91 0.117
No. of Samples 20 768

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean
Pass

Phosphorus, Total

Score: Pass
Units: mg/L Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 0.389 0.885
Mean 0.1344 0.1643 0.16735577
Low 0.027 0.016
No. of Samples 26 777

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean
Caution

Dissolved Oxygen Saturation

Note: Low DO saturation also may be naturally influenced by inflows from nearby wetlands or groundwater sources.
Score: Caution
Units: percent (%) Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 65.89 166.80
Mean 35.38 51.41 21.6605
Low 2.93 1.3632
No. of Samples 21 675

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean

BOD, Biochemical oxygen demand

Units: mg/l Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 4.10 6.58
Mean 1.17 1.31 0.72129
Low 1.00 0.50
No. of Samples 20 520

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean

Color

Units: PCU Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 180.00 450.00
Mean 89.93 104.2 88.71575
Low 35.00 5.00
No. of Samples 21 738

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean

Escherichia coli

Units: MPN/100ml Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 279.00 4106.00
Mean 133.79 160.07 409.02214
Low 52.00 10.00
No. of Samples 10 151

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean

Nitrogen, Ammonia + Ammonium as N

Units: mg/L Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 0.244 25.57
Mean 0.07 0.02 1.00401566
Low 0.021 0.00
No. of Samples 20 677

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean

Nitrogen, Kjeldahl

Units: mg/L Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 2.16 26.19
Mean 1.28 1.05 1.10999164
Low 0.881 0.05
No. of Samples 20 645

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean

Nitrogen, Nitrite + Nitrate as N

Units: mg/L Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 0.078 0.79
Mean 0.03 0.06 0.07036078
Low 0.011 0.00
No. of Samples 20 609

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean

pH

Units: None Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 7.61 8.90
Mean 7.25 7.56 0.31789
Low 6.82 5.52
No. of Samples 21 4,396

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean

Salinity

Units: PSS Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 28.4589 78.50
Mean 1.41 10.6 15.77536
Low 0.11 0.00
No. of Samples 22 4,329

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean

Specific conductance

Units: umho Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 43391.90 61277.60
Mean 2365.73 15269.08 16446.71105
Low 225.91 0.286
No. of Samples 22 4,385

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean

Temperature, water

Units: deg F Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 190.364 192.9268
Mean 164.16 75.88 17.34333
Low 76.46 47.858
No. of Samples 21 4,282

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean

Turbidity

Units: NTU Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 40.00
Mean 2.56 2.21017
Low 0.70
No. of Samples 0 484

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean
Other Measures of Creek Health:

Water Chemistry Ratings | Tidal Portion of the Creek

Creek Conditions Ratings are based on comparing nitrogen, phosphorus, chlorophyll and dissolved oxygen to water quality guidelines or regulations. Florida law defines a maximum allowable concentration of chlorophyll a and a minimum allowable concentration of dissolved oxygen in these streams. Florida has no regulatory thresholds for nitrogen or phosphorus in tidal creeks so trends are used to rate the creeks. Learn more about these ratings and how they are calculated »

Data for the following WBIDs is averaged when compiling the data below:
  • 1991G
  • 2009A
Chart Legend
  • Trend Line
  • Annual Mean
  • Threshold
Pass

Chlorophyll a

Score: Pass
Units: ug/l Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 57.0 180.0
Mean 8.513 7.2219 14.44426
Low 1.01 0.25
No. of Samples 43 1,584

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean
×

Chlorophyll a

The rating for Chlorophyll a is determined by comparing the annual arithmetic mean of its sampled values to fixed target and threshold values. The annual arithmetic mean is shown in the graph at left, as compared to its established target and threshold values.

An arithmetic mean is used for Chlorophyll a for consistency with the Surface Water Quality Standards, Florida Administrative Code 62-302.532, Estuary-Specific Numeric Interpretations of the Narrative Nutrient Criterion.

Nitrogen, Total

We were unable to determine a trend for the data available.
Units: mg/L Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 2.0 4.2
Mean 1.3076 1.2194 0.34202653
Low 0.956 0.19
No. of Samples 30 1,413

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean
×

Nitrogen, Total

Phosphorus, Total

We were unable to determine a trend for the data available.
Units: mg/L Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 0.7 1.6
Mean 0.259 0.3291 0.17113803
Low 0.152 0.02
No. of Samples 39 1,448

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean
×

Phosphorus, Total

Caution

Dissolved Oxygen Saturation

Note: Low DO saturation also may be naturally influenced by inflows from nearby wetlands or groundwater sources
Score: Caution
Units: percent (%) Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 97.5 263.0
Mean 53.13 63.8 19.74074
Low 20.64 -99.90
No. of Samples 43 2,306

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean
×

Dissolved Oxygen Saturation

BOD, Biochemical oxygen demand

Units: mg/l Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 1.6 7.0
Mean 1.08 1.14 0.58428
Low 1.00 0.20
No. of Samples 30 1,092

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean

Color

Units: PCU Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 340.0 500.0
Mean 128.64 142.54 87.3778
Low 50.00 8.00
No. of Samples 39 1,485

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean

Enterococcus Group Bacteria

Units: MPN/100ml Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 813.0 8,300.0
Mean 153.81 148.41 858.06397
Low 29.10 1.00
No. of Samples 2 194

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean

Nitrogen, Ammonia + Ammonium as N

Units: mg/L Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 0.3 0.9
Mean 0.03 0.01 0.0587895
Low 0.005 0.00
No. of Samples 39 1,321

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean

Nitrogen, Kjeldahl

Units: mg/L Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 2.0 2.9
Mean 1.27 1.15 0.31721623
Low 0.933 0.17
No. of Samples 39 1,502

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean

Nitrogen, Nitrite + Nitrate as N

Units: mg/L Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 0.1 0.5
Mean 0.02 0.03 0.07111132
Low 0.004 0.00
No. of Samples 39 1,487

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean

pH

Units: None Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 9.6 9.6
Mean 7.04 7.04 0.42808
Low 5.92 5.32
No. of Samples 43 2,404

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean

Salinity

Units: PSS Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 5.2 19.7
Mean 0.22 0.3 2.98221
Low 0.06 0.00
No. of Samples 38 1,870

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean

Specific conductance

Units: umho Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 15,700.0 31,710.0
Mean 509.09 545.35 4633.45019
Low 134.67 4.64
No. of Samples 51 2,636

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean

Temperature, water

Units: deg F Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 191.1 197.0
Mean 137.67 81.99 29.55494
Low 64.40 36.158
No. of Samples 42 2,447

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean

Turbidity

Units: NTU Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 9.7 25.0
Mean 3.91 2.47 1.94772
Low 1.60 0.10
No. of Samples 9 1,219

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean
Other Measures of Creek Health:

Oysters

Because they are immobile and will tolerate a fairly wide salinity range, eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) are valuable as an indicator of the relative health of aquatic ecosystems in the tidally-influenced portions of coastal creeks. Sarasota County has established an oyster monitoring program to track the location, types, and status of oyster reefs. Data from this monitoring program is shown below. Learn more about Oysters »

Loading oyster site map...
Most Recent Sarasota County Oyster Monitoring Program Data
Icon Site ID Year Dead Live Total % Live
1 CC1 2023 80
2 CC2 2023 50

Impervious Features

Curry Creek is located within the Dona and Roberts Bay Watershed. View details about the Dona and Roberts Bay Watershed »

Rain that falls on land that is in a natural state is absorbed and filtered by soils and vegetation as it makes it way into underground aquifers. However, in developed areas, "impervious surfaces" impede this process and contribute to polluted urban runoff entering surface waters. These surfaces include human infrastructure like roads, sidewalks, driveways and parking lots that are covered by impenetrable materials such as asphalt, concrete, brick and stone, as well as buildings and other permanent structures. Soils that have been disturbed and compacted by urban development are often impervious as well. Learn more about Impervious Features »

The Sarasota County Stormwater Environmental Utility (SEU) mapped impervious surfaces in the County in 2013. A map showing impervious surfaces can be viewed using the Water Atlas Map Viewer tool.

13% of the land area within the Curry Creek Basin is covered by impervious surfaces

Impervious Surface Coverage by Type

Land Use / Land Cover

Curry Creek is located within the Dona and Roberts Bay Watershed. View details about the Dona and Roberts Bay Watershed »

Land use within a creek's watershed has a major effect on its water quality. In general, less development means better water quality. Land Cover/Land Use classifications categorize land in terms of its observed physical surface characteristics (e.g. upland or wetland), and also reflect the types of activity that are taking place on it (agriculture, urban/built-up, utilities, etc.). Florida uses as its standard a set of statewide classifications which were developed by the Florida Department of Transportation. Learn more about Land Use and Land Cover »

Acreage and Percentage within each Land Use / Land Cover Category for Curry Creek Basin
Land Use Classification 1990 1995 1999 2005 2011 2014 2017 2020 Trend
Urban & Built-up 2,08932.7% 2,33136.4% 2,91545.6% 3,50454.8% 3,62156.6% 3,51955% 3,82559.8% 4,02562.9% Land Use Trend Sparkline
Agriculture 1,53223.9% 1,37421.5% 1,20118.8% 73611.5% 3856% 3695.8% 2704.2% 2253.5% Land Use Trend Sparkline
Rangeland 1742.7% 2123.3% 1882.9% 751.2% 3175% 3225% 2143.3% 1532.4% Land Use Trend Sparkline
Upland Forests 1,45222.7% 1,22919.2% 82612.9% 76712% 70711.1% 81312.7% 70111% 5358.4% Land Use Trend Sparkline
Water 3505.5% 4386.8% 4827.5% 4937.7% 4927.7% 4927.7% 5087.9% 5498.6% Land Use Trend Sparkline
Wetlands 5268.2% 4637.2% 4617.2% 4837.6% 5228.2% 5228.2% 5198.1% 5108% Land Use Trend Sparkline
Barren Land 80.1% 210.3% 00% 00% 00% 00% 00% 00% Land Use Trend Sparkline
Transportation and Utilities 2664.2% 3305.2% 3265.1% 3415.3% 3545.5% 3625.7% 3605.6% 4026.3% Land Use Trend Sparkline
Land Use Chart