Ground-Water Discharge to Biscayne Bay

Project Investigator: Chris Langevin Project Personnel: Raul Patterson, Melinda Lohmann Project Start Date: 1996 End Date: 2000 Proposals Project Summaries Data Metadata Publications

Summary

The goal is a model assessment of effects of management activities on discharge to Biscayne Bay.

Please note - this is a completed project.

The goal of Everglades Restoration is to restore the ecosystem of South Florida to conditions that closely resemble predevelopment conditions. Much of the restoration will occur by making significant changes to the structures and operational procedures of the existing water management system. These changes must not harm the ecosystem of Biscayne Bay, which is already threatened by reductions in fresh groundwater flow.

Prior to the construction of the extensive canal network in South Florida, offshore springs discharged large quantities of fresh groundwater into Biscayne Bay. During this time most of the freshwater flow to Biscayne Bay occurred as either spring flow or the continuous seepage of fresh groundwater along the coast of the Bay. When drainage canals were constructed to reduce flooding in the area, the mechanism for transporting water to the Bay was significantly altered. Rather than receiving a continuous supply of fresh groundwater, Biscayne Bay received wet-season pulses of canal discharge. Biologists have confirmed that the change in timing and location of freshwater flow to the Bay has harmed Biscayne Bay's ecosystem. Sea grasses, and juvenile fish that take refuge in them, no longer receive a continuous supply of fresh water-a requirement for their survival. The purpose of this project, known as the "Groundwater Flows to Biscayne Bay" project, is to determine how planned restoration alternatives will affect the bay by providing answers to the following questions:

1. How much fresh groundwater is currently discharging to Biscayne Bay?
2. How will South Florida restoration efforts affect the quantity of fresh groundwater flow to Biscayne Bay?

To answer these questions, groundwater flow to Biscayne Bay is being simulated with a computer model. The model will help identify which of the costly restoration alternatives will result in fresh groundwater flows to the Bay that are most beneficial to the ecosystem. This project is scheduled for completion in September 2000, at which time the computer model and a published report will be available to all interested parties.

Proposals

• 1998
• 1999

Project Summaries

• 2001
• 2002

Data

• Field Data (from WRI 00-4251)
• Lithologic Descriptions of Selected Cores (from WRI 00-4251)
• Monitoring Stations (from WRI 00-4251)

Metadata

• Ground-Water Discharge to Biscayne Bay (project metadata)

Publications

Abstracts

• Geochemical Analysis of Ground-Water Flow to Biscayne Bay
• Ground-Water Discharge to Biscayne Bay (from the GEER Conference, December 2000)
• Ground-Water Discharges to Biscayne Bay
• Ground-Water Flows to Biscayne Bay (from the South Florida Restoration Science Forum, May 1999)
• Groundwater Discharge and Nutrient Loading to Biscayne Bay (from the Florida Bay and Adjacent Marine Systems Science Conference, November 1999)
• Numerical Simulation of Submarine Groundwater Discharge to a Marine Estuary: An Example from Southern Florida, USA (from the proceedings of The First International Conference on Saltwater Intrusion and Coastal Aquifers -- Monitoring, Modeling, and Management, April 2001)

Bibliographies

• Ground-Water Discharge to Biscayne Bay - Bibliography

Computer Programs

• SEAWAT: A Computer Program for Simulation of Three-Dimensional Variable-Density Ground-Water Flow (from the Water Resources of the United States website)

Fact Sheets

• Ground-Water Discharge to Biscayne Bay

Open File Reports

• MODFLOW-2000, the U.S. Geological Survey Modular Ground-Water Model–Documentation of the SEAWAT-2000 Version with the Variable-Density Flow Process (VDF) and the Integrated MT3DMS Transport Process (IMT) (OFR-03-426, from the Water Resources of Florida website)

Papers

• Simulation of Submarine Ground Water Discharge to a Marine Estuary: Biscayne Bay, Florida (Ground Water 41, no. 6: 758-771 article available from the Water Resources of the United States website)

Posters

• Biscayne Bay: How can the quantity, timing, and quality of freshwater inflow be improved to sustain healthy ecosystems in all parts of this bay that stretches from urban areas to wilderness? (from the South Florida Restoration Science Forum site)

Water Resources Investigations Reports

• Simulation of Ground-Water Discharge to Biscayne Bay, Southeastern Florida (WRI 00-4251)
• User's Guide to SEAWAT: A Computer Program for Simulation of Three-Dimensional Variable-Density Ground-Water Flow (Techniques of Water-Resources Investigations Book 6, Chapter A7 (Supersedes OFR 01-434), available from the Water Resources of Florida website)