Forked Creek Condition Report for 2024

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

0 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: 5,863 acres
  • Location: South Sarasota County
  • Discharges into: Lemon Bay

For more information, please see: Forked Creek Drainage Improvements, Preliminary Report Phase I (2000)

View county-wide water quality trends »

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Forked Creek

Forked Creek
Visit the Forked 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 »

Chart Legend
  • Trend Line
  • Annual Mean
  • Threshold
Water quality data are not available for the freshwater portion of this creek.

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:
  • 2039
Chart Legend
  • Trend Line
  • Annual Mean
  • Threshold
Caution

Chlorophyll a

Score: Caution
Units: ug/l Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 618.0 618.0
Mean 18.2766 11.2115 38.76486
Low 3.77 0.25
No. of Samples 22 511

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 6.0 8.1
Mean 1.1641 1.0456 0.73554958
Low 0.746 0.084
No. of Samples 16 659

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 1.7 3.8
Mean 0.2996 0.3356 0.46806414
Low 0.152 0.004
No. of Samples 22 505

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 61.7 169.7
Mean 16.58 57.12 30.89384
Low 3.39 0.0861
No. of Samples 22 875

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean
×

Dissolved Oxygen Saturation

BOD, Biochemical oxygen demand

Units: mg/l Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 8.7 16.7
Mean 1.97 2.15 2.08971
Low 1.00 0.50
No. of Samples 20 373

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean

Color

Units: PCU Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 400.0 400.0
Mean 77.17 51.38 55.89397
Low 8.20 2.50
No. of Samples 22 640

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean

Enterococcus Group Bacteria

Units: MPN/100ml Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 2,310.0 14,100.0
Mean 290.62 156.15 1756.66463
Low 48.00 10.00
No. of Samples 22 208

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean

Nitrogen, Ammonia + Ammonium as N

Units: mg/L Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 0.9 1.5
Mean 0.23 0.02 0.18110354
Low 0.011 0.00
No. of Samples 20 548

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean

Nitrogen, Kjeldahl

Units: mg/L Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 5.9 5.9
Mean 1.21 0.95 0.62599165
Low 0.737 0.05
No. of Samples 22 572

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean

Nitrogen, Nitrite + Nitrate as N

Units: mg/L Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 0.1 0.9
Mean 0.02 0.02 0.0634676
Low 0.004 0.00
No. of Samples 22 498

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean

pH

Units: None Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 7.9 9.3
Mean 7.23 7.76 0.47052
Low 6.77 4.90
No. of Samples 22 1,020

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean

Salinity

Units: PSS Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 35.9 38.1
Mean 5.34 17.21 10.27472
Low 0.55 0.00
No. of Samples 24 975

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean

Specific conductance

Units: umho Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 53,381.5 63,471.0
Mean 6603.08 18008.54 17193.02876
Low 1095.33 0.941
No. of Samples 20 779

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean

Temperature, water

Units: deg F Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 195.3 197.9
Mean 157.35 80.33 24.26591
Low 68.18 50.00
No. of Samples 22 1,380

Five-year Rolling Average

  • Annual Mean

Turbidity

Units: NTU Year
2024		 Historical
period of record
High 12.0 78.9
Mean 7.1 2.96 5.9778
Low 4.20 0.10
No. of Samples 2 807

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 FRK1 2016 12 55 67 82
2 FRK1A 2013 96 76 172 44
3 FRK2 2024 83 267 350 76

Impervious Features

Forked Creek is located within the Lemon Bay Watershed. View details about the Lemon 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.

7% of the land area within the Forked Creek Basin is covered by impervious surfaces

Impervious Surface Coverage by Type

Land Use / Land Cover

Forked Creek is located within the Lemon Bay Watershed. View details about the Lemon 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 Forked Creek Basin
Land Use Classification 1990 1995 1999 2005 2011 2014 2017 2020 Trend
Urban & Built-up 1,39423.8% 1,57026.8% 1,88832.2% 1,85931.7% 2,15436.7% 2,15436.7% 2,39340.8% 2,41841.3% Land Use Trend Sparkline
Agriculture 1,05518% 1,08118.4% 1,06418.2% 98816.8% 61910.6% 61910.6% 5339.1% 5138.7% Land Use Trend Sparkline
Rangeland 2324% 68811.7% 3956.7% 5529.4% 72612.4% 72612.4% 58710% 5158.8% Land Use Trend Sparkline
Upland Forests 2,05935.1% 1,32222.5% 1,31322.4% 1,18720.3% 1,03117.6% 1,03117.6% 98216.7% 93515.9% Land Use Trend Sparkline
Water 1392.4% 3906.7% 2374% 2293.9% 2764.7% 2764.7% 3185.4% 3756.4% Land Use Trend Sparkline
Wetlands 90515.4% 74312.7% 90415.4% 94416.1% 94816.2% 94816.2% 94316.1% 93916% Land Use Trend Sparkline
Barren Land 10% 00% 00% 00% 00% 00% 00% 60.1% Land Use Trend Sparkline
Transportation and Utilities 781.3% 681.2% 611% 1031.8% 1071.8% 1071.8% 1081.8% 1612.8% Land Use Trend Sparkline
Land Use Chart