Patterson, R. D. Orzol, L. L. Dixon, Joann
The synthesis will be completed using the following strategy. Some information was obtained from previously published reports but is supplemented considerably with unpublished data from the files of the U.S. Geological Survey, South Florida Water Management District, and Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade Counties. A literature review will be conducted to examine the historical development of water resources in eastern Dade County, and to describe how land-use management practices have have impacted the ecosystem. The impact of these practices will be evaluated in terms of both water quantity and water quality. GIS coverages have been developed which include such topical categories as changes in ground-water withdrawals, water use, population density, land use, and and changes in long-term ground-water levels and canal discharge during the last 100 years.
Present day inflow and outflow components of the hydrologic budget will be estimated integrating data available in the files of the U.S. Geological Survey and Southeast Florida Water Management District, from existing numerical models or from models which are currently under development. Some of the major inflow components to the system in the County include precipitation, levee seepage, ground-water recharge to the aquifer, and water conveyed from Lake Okeechobee to the ocean through the canal system. Depending on local hydrologic conditions, this canal system can act either as a source of water to, or a site of discharge from the underlying aquifer. Outflow components include evapotranspiration, canal outflows, municipal and agricultural well pumpage, and ground-water discharge to the Biscayne Bay.
In the past 60 years, projects executed by Federal, State, and local agencies have been conducted to determine the location of the saltwater interface. These projects have been mostly local in nature, limited to a specific county or municipality. Projects have reported the change in chloride with depth in a well or group of wells; most monitoring programs are managed by local governmental agencies. Other projects have used ground-water flow models to determine the location and movement of the interface. However, no effort has been made to link the results of these various studies or to fill in data gaps.
This synthesis will: 1) provide a temporal and spatial overview of changes in land use, population, and water management systems; 2) evaluate long-term trends in withdrawal rates; 3) examine long-term trends in surface-water flow, change in ground-water levels, and increase in chloride concentrations; 4) review causal relations between the position of the saltwater interface and water management practices; and 5) illustrate the impact of development on coastal ground-water hydrology and shallow marine ecology. The evaluation of saltwater intrusion in the surficial aquifers of South Florida will be made through an analysis of existing publications and data. Results from recent studies conducted along the southeast coast and in the Everglades National Park will be combined with additional data collected by other agencies to present a regional depiction of saltwater intrusion. Additional study will be conducted to determine long-term trends in the movement of the freshwater-saltwater interface. Changes in water levels will be compared with the movement of the interface. This synthesis includes preparation of maps, graphs, spatial data sets, and charts that illustrate and define historic and present-day hydrologic conditions in the eastern and agricultural corridor of southern Florida.
U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Center for
Coastal Geology
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