Project Work Plan

Study Title: Baseline hydrologic data collection along the I-75/State Road 29 corridor in the Big Cypress National Preserve
Study Start Date: October, 2005   Study End Date: September 2009
Web Sites: http://www.sflorida.er.usgs.gov/edl_data/index.html "End-of-Month Conditions in South Florida"
http://www.sflorida.er.usgs.gov/edl_data/index_qw.html "Manual Water-Level Measurements in South Florida"
Location: I-75 corridor from L-28 Interceptor west to SR 29 and SR 29 from I-75 south to the USGS site 02291000 BARRON RIVER NR EVERGLADES, FLA.
Funding Source: USGS Greater Everglades Priority Ecosystems Science (GE PES) and ENP Critical Ecosystems Studies Initiative (CESI)
Other Complementary Funding Source(s): None
Funding History: None
Principal Investigator(s): Elizabeth Hittle / Ricardo Solis
Study Personnel: FISC - Ft. Lauderdale
Supporting Organizations: Big Cypress National Preserve
Associated / Linked Studies:

Overview & Objective(s): The objectives of this study for the 2007 water year are to continue to develop a program of surface water flow monitoring across I-75 and SR 29 in the areas described above. Quarterly discharge measurements will be continued along both reaches to assess hydrologic flow patterns and evaluate the feasibility of creating a stage-discharge/index-velocity relationship for this area. Instrumentation was installed in the 2006 WY that records stage and velocity in three box culverts flowing underneath I-75 to work towards this objective. One more index site is proposed for 2007.

Specific Relevance to Major Unanswered Questions and Information Needs Identified: This study supports several of the projects listed in the DOI science plan (specifically: The Southwest Florida Feasibility Study and the CERP Decompartmentalization) by (a) documenting existing hydrologic conditions during four hydroperiods across the I-75 corridor in Big Cypress National Preserve: (b) developing a monitoring plan to document the hydrologic conditions via stage or some other index relationship to discharge; and (c) providing additional data that can be used in the SFWMD Regional Simulation Model (RSM).

The primary application of this project is toward the multi-agency goal of conducting "Studies to improve the hydrologic monitoring in the Big Cypress National Preserve" (Announcement Area A7).

In the course of achieving this goal the study data will help researchers address the unanswered question in the Water Conservation Area 3 Decompartmentalization and Sheetflow Enhancement project (DECOMP; p. 66) - "What were the physical and ecological conditions in the Greater Everglades prior to drainage and modification, including current and historic hydrologic ... conditions" (p. 68). It does this by providing the baseline information about a major current barrier to sheetflow, I-75. The data collected are thereby expected to support the research on the existing linkages among the geologic, hydrologic, chemical, climatological, and biological processes that currently shape the Everglades, and will provide insight into the predrainage Everglades. This baseline flow will also contribute to the Southwest Florida Feasibility Study (p. 52) which "address(es) the health of upland and aquatic ecosystems in this 4,300 square mile area and consider(s) a variety of parameters, including water flow..."

In addition, flow data collected from the bridges and culverts along I-75 will directly support the ongoing goal of "quantification of flows across and parallel to I-75 (Alligator Alley), addressing the issue of deviations in the natural movement of water within and downstream of Big Cypress National Preserve" (Announcement Area A8). Flow monitoring across State Road 29 into the Florida Panther Refuge will directly support the data requirements for "assessment and design options for restoration to improve flows between the Okaloacoochee Slough in Big Cypress National Preserve and the Florida Panther Wildlife Refuge, across State Road 29 canal" (Announcement Area C7).

By improving the amount and extent of data available in the northeast portion of the preserve, the study data is expected to support the work involved in modeling of surface water dynamics to evaluate the impacts of hydrologic restoration projects such as CERP, on water patterns, water quality, and ecology in NE Big Cypress National Preserve, particularly with regards to the Seminole Water Conservation Plan and L-28 Interceptor Modification Project.

Status: Project proposal submitted and accepted, initial reconnaissance of project area began in November, 2005.

FY2006: As of August 25, 2006 three complete discharge measurements have been accomplished with another planned for late September. Velocity meters have been installed in three box culverts. The data being collected is velocity and stage. Initial evaluation determined the need to move one culvert index site. This move is scheduled for August 31, 2006.

Recent Products: None

Planned Products: Biannual status reports, annual publication of the culvert index data, monitoring plan for establishment of stage or other index relationship to discharge. Quarterly measurements added to SOFIA web data archive.

WORK PLAN

Title of Task 1: Literature review of historical USGS and other agency data
Task Funding: USGS Greater Everglades Priority Ecosystems Science (GE PES) and ENP Critical Ecosystems Studies Initiative (CESI)
Task Leaders: Elizabeth Hittle
Phone: 412-717-3805
FAX: 412-717-3828
Task Status: Completed
Task priority: medium
Time Frame for Task 1: present - January 1, 2006
Task Personnel: Elizabeth Hittle

Task Summary and Objectives: The objective is to review literature on past monitoring studies that documented flows across I-75 and SR 29 in the project area.

Work to be undertaken during the proposal year and a description of the methods and procedures: Incorporate multi-agency/university and modeling contacts into a review of previous and/or current projects related to flow monitoring across I-75 bordering the Big Cypress Basin eastern boundary and, SR 29 on the western perimeter of the Preserve. Collate this information together with available GIS coverages for development of a plan to coordinate future flow measurement team deployment for both boundaries of the study area.

Specific Task Product(s): Results of the evaluation of existing and past continuously recording monitoring field sites in conjunction with past flow measurement investigations will allow project staff to develop an initial appropriate flow monitoring plan, tailored specifically to facilitate the most efficient use of pre-existing data and streamgaging resources.

Title of Task 2: Discharge measurements
Task Funding: USGS Greater Everglades Priority Ecosystems Science (GE PES) and ENP Critical Ecosystems Studies Initiative (CESI)
Task Leaders: Ricardo Solis / Elizabeth Hittle
Phone: 954-377-5948
FAX: 954-377-5901
Task Status: Active - see task 5 for continuation
Task priority: High
Time Frame for Task 2: Reconnaissance has been completed. Four discharge measurements will be accomplished in the 2007 WY.
Task Personnel: For each measurement set there will be six to eight streamgage personnel including technicians.

Task Summary and Objectives: To accomplish a discharge composite for surface-flows south across I-75 into the Big Cypress National Preserve and across SR 29 into the Fakahatchee Strand.

Work to be undertaken during the proposal year and a description of the methods and procedures: Reconnaissance of each bridge, culvert and wildlife through-way for appropriate measurement locations and methods. This includes documentation of weed conditions affecting periodic flow shifting, water depth, and establishment of reference marks to do distance to water measurements for indications of significant east-west flow "short-circuting".

Discharge at each bridge, culvert and wildlife throughway will be measured in one day. Stream-flow measurements will be accomplished by Price AA meter, flow rods, or acoustic doppler point and/or profiling velocity meters as conditions at the controls allow. These discharge measurements directly relate to DOI science plan by providing baseline data for water flow into Big Cypress National Preserve from the northern boundary and out of the Preserve on the western boundary South of I-75.

Specific Task Product(s): The sum of discharge through these structures will be published in the annual Water Data Report entitled Water Resources Data, Florida,Water Year 2007.

Title of Task 3: Placement of stage and index gages
Task Funding: USGS Greater Everglades Priority Ecosystems Science (GE PES) and ENP Critical Ecosystems Studies Initiative (CESI)
Task Leaders: Ricardo Solis
Phone: 954-377-5948
FAX: 954-377-5901
Task Status: Three meters have been installed, one more may be installed in the 2007 WY. Continuous and discrete stage monitoring will be evaluated for determining optimum site installation.
Task priority: High
Time Frame for Task 2: January 2006 - April 2007
Task Personnel: Elizabeth Hittle, Ricardo Solis, two technicians

Task Summary and Objectives: Based on the results of discharge measurements, potential gage placement will be determined. These gages will then be installed and continuous data collection will commence.

Work to be undertaken during the proposal year and a description of the methods and procedures: As on the Tamiami Trail, one stage gage along the entire reach may not relate to discharges through the various structures. The discharge measurements made, aerial photography, and distance to water measurements will help determine where stage gages and or index gages should be placed. Once this determination has been made, appropriate instrumentation will be installed.

Specific Task Product(s): Stage and or index gages that will be used to collect continuous hydrologic data.

Title of Task 4: Data collection and feasibility of study continuation
Task Funding: USGS Greater Everglades Priority Ecosystems Science (GE PES) and ENP Critical Ecosystems Studies Initiative (CESI)
Task Leaders: Ricardo Solis / Elizabeth Hittle
Phone: 954-377-5948
FAX: 954-377-5901
Task Status: Active
Task priority: High
Time Frame for Task 4: April 2006 - September, 2007
Task Personnel: Ricardo Solis, Elizabeth Hittle, records staff

Task Summary and Objectives: The objective is the assessment of the feasibility of developing a stage-discharge or index-discharge relationship based on the data that was collected and the discharge measurements made.

Work to be undertaken during the proposal year and a description of the methods and procedures: The development of a discharge relationship is directly related to the DOI Science plan by giving a continuous record of discharge into Big Cypress National Preserve. If a relationship can not be determined, specific recommendations will be prepared concerning the best methodology. In order to ensure the instrumentation is working well data will be downloaded once a month as well performing a discharge measurement just at that particular culvert.

Specific Task Product(s): Development of velocity-index relationships to discharge.

Title of Task 5: Tying in bridge reference marks to existing benchmarks
Task Funding: USGS Greater Everglades Priority Ecosystems Science (GE PES) and ENP Critical Ecosystems Studies Initiative (CESI)
Task Leaders: Ricardo Solis
Phone: 954-377-5948
FAX: 954-377-5901
Task Status: Active
Task priority: High
Time Frame for Task 5: October 2006 - January 2007
Task Personnel: Ricardo Solis, Elizabeth Hittle, field technicians

Task Summary and Objectives: The objective of this task is to have a periodic measure of water level underneath the bridges that is all to the same gage datum.

Work to be undertaken during the proposal year and a description of the methods and procedures: DOT benchmark placement close to the bridges will be researched. A team of personnel will then go and field-truth the placement of the benchmarks to assess the feasibility of running a set of optical levels from the benchmark to a predetermined reference mark on the bridge. These bridge reference marks will be fully documented and the information will be provided to Big Cypress personnel.

Specific Task Product(s): Reference marks that are tied into existing benchmarks that will lead to water level measurements at specific bridges that are tied to the same datum plane.