1. Inventory existing hydrologic data available in the vicinity of the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge (FPNWR) including all data that can be used for determining past and current conditions.
2. Design and install a hydrologic monitoring network for the FPNWR. The network will include continuous and intermittently monitored ground-water level and surface water stations. The network will be used to monitor hydrologic conditions within the FPNWR and to evaluate the relationship between ground water and surface water.
3. Collect other hydrologic data as needed to assist in determining the hydrologic conditions in the area. Examples of other types of data include stable isotopes, which can be used to determine sources of water in a sample, evapotranspiration data, surface and borehole geophysical data, seepage measurements.
4. Evaluate historical and current data to determine trends and baseline conditions at and in the vicinity of the FPNWR.
There are two components to the hydrology of the area that have an impact on the ecology, surface water, and shallow ground water. The surface water consists of wetlands within and canals bordering the FPNWR. Canals bordering the refuge have a major impact on the hydrology in the area. The FPNWR currently maintains a hydrologic monitoring program of 8 stations (Larry Richardson, verbal communication). These hydrologic monitoring stations have not been surveyed to a vertical datum, which is required to adequately evaluate the data being collected. The survey information is required to determine the relationship between ground water and surface water in the area. Additional information needed to evaluate the hydrology of the area include stage and flow rates in the canals bordering the FPNWR.
A literature search will be conducted in library databases and at the offices of the FPNWR to locate relevant historical information about the refuge. Important information includes historical water level and flow data and modification to the canals surrounding the refuge.
Existing hydrologic conditions will be evaluated to determine the data types and optimal design to monitor surface water flows and stage, ground-water levels, and ground-water / surface-water interactions. The existing water-level monitoring network will be evaluated to determine if it fits into the optimal design. Locations to drill new monitor wells will be determined. Locations to install stage and flow monitoring equipment in canals bordering the refuge and within the refuge will be determined. New monitoring wells will be drilled and instrumented. Wells installed near current real-time weather stations in the refuge will be connected, if feasible, to the refuge telemetry network.
Differential GPS will be used to establish reference marks at key locations, traditional surveying will be used as needed to tie in all monitoring locations to the established reference marks. The elevations will be referenced to NAVD 88.
Continuous recording equipment will be operated for a minimum of one year. Data will be processed and posted on the SOFIA data exchange web site. Following FY07, it is anticipated that the monitoring network will be turned over to the FPNWR to operate. A review of the stations will be conducted to determine redundant stations to minimize the long-term expense required to operate the network.
Various additional methods will be evaluated to determine if they will be useful in evaluating the hydrologic budget of the refuge. Among these techniques are seepage meters, surface and borehole geophysics, stable isotopes, evapotranspiration data, and satellite imagery.
U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Center for
Coastal Geology
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