Project Summary Sheet

Project: Development of a Regional Model for Aquifer Storage and Recovery in South Florida

Web Sites: http://sofia.usgs.gov/: summary, metadata, publications

Location (Subregions & Counties): South Florida, Miami-Dade

Funding (Source): USGS Place-Based Studies, Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit (CESU)

Principal Investigator(s): Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm, University of Miami (fmiralles@rsmas.miami.edu)

Project Personnel: Rachel Loveman, Oniel Slowley (USGS/WRD-Miami)

Supporting Organizations: South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), US Army Corps of Engineers

Associated / Linked Projects: Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP)

Overview & Status: A regional model of variable density ground water flow and salinity transport was developed with the purpose of regional scale evaluation of aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) in South Florida. The model entails the flow of ground water under the influence of density variations due to salinity transport over an area encompassing South Florida (south of Orange Co) and a subsurface volume that extends to the continental platform on the east and west sides of the state of Florida. The model was completed in December 2001.

Needs & Products: The developed model can be used to determine the impacts (head/pressure buildup, salinity interface movement) of proposed ASR schemes at a regional level. In this regard, a preliminary evaluation of regional ASR has been included in the project report. The model, developed with the SEAWAT computer program, is a product of this project, and it has been delivered together with a project report and all computer files.

Application to Everglades Restoration: ASR is an important water management component of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). This project’s relevance is to develop a basis to determine the feasibility of ASR at a regional scale, i.e., to determine positive ASR prospects and to define problem areas at a planning level of detail.