Delineation and extent of saltwater intrusion in the Biscayne aquifer, eastern Dade County, Florida, 1995
No abstract available.
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Geology topics
Research about Dade County, Florida
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Tests of subsurface storage of freshwater at Hialeah, Dade County, Florida, and numerical simulation of the salinity of recovered water
Injection and observation wells were drilled in late 1974 for the purpose of conducting tests of storage and recovery of potable water in the brackish Upper Floridan aquifer. Three tests, involving storage and recovery cycles of varying volumes and storage period lengths, were performed between July 1975 and January 1980. Recovery was by natural artesian flow, and recovery efficiencies were 32.9, 47.8, and 38.5 percent. Wellbore plugging occurred during the injection stages, but injectivity was restored by periodic 2- to 3-hour backflushes at the natural artesian flow rate. An interval of shelly limestone between 1,015 and 1,050 feet below land surface contained the flow zone. Data from an analysis of 18 spinner flowmeter logs indicated that the principal part of the flow zone extended from 1,024 to 1,036 feet below land surface and that minor amounts of flow occurred to a depth of about 1,047 feet. A neutron porosity log indicated the bulk porosity of both the flow zone and confining layers to be 35 percent. Chloride and dissolved-solids concentrations of water in the flow zone were 1,200 and 2,700 milligrams per liter, respectively. A three-dimensional, finite-difference flow and solute-transport code was used to simulate pressure data measured during an aquifer test and observed salinity increases in recovered water during storage and recovery cycles. The aquifer test conducted in February 1975 was simulated by using a hydraulic conductivity estimate of 800 feet per day and a rock compressibility estimate of 0.0000400 (pound per square inch)-1. The equivalent transmissivity and storage coefficients were 9,600 cubic feet per day per square foot times foot of aquifer thickness and 7.8×10-5, respectively. Simulation of observed salinity increases during the three recoveries required dispersivities of 65 feet, a molecular diffusivity of 0.0002 foot squared per day, and a regional pore velocity of 260 feet per year. Central differencing in space and time was used for the solute-transport computations as well as an experimental method of computing vertical dispersion that used a scaling factor of 0.013. Additional simulations of the aquifer-test data and recovery salinities were obtained based on assumptions that (1) the flow zone was 21 feet thick, (2) flow-zone effective porosity was 20 percent, and (3) flow-zone hydraulic conductivity was bipolar anisotropic by a ratio of 10:1. The four sets of simulation values were used in model runs in which 10 years of annual injection, storage, and recovery cycles were simulated. Computed recovery efficiencies increased from 40 percent in the first year to 68 percent in later cycles. The high regional pore velocity required for model calibration substantially limited the recovery efficiency achieved in later cycles.
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Computation of the time-varying flow rate from an artesian well in central Dade County, Florida, by analytical and numerical simulation methods
Simulation of the development of a plume of brackish water in a surficial aquifer caused by discharge from a flowing artesian well required an accurate estimate of the rate of flow during a 40-year period. The rate of flow from the well, constructed with 12-inch casing in 1944, was measured to be 2,350 gallons per minute 2 months after completion and 1,170 gallons per minute in 1964, 1965, and 1969. The rates measured 20 years apart appeared to be mutually inconsistent unless the difference could be explained by the: (1) drawdown of the aquifer over time, (2) raising of the altitude at which the water was discharged, (3) installation of 80 feet of 8-inch liner, or (4) deterioration of the condition of the well over time. The latter possibility implies losses of flows through holes in the casing and increased friction losses. Application of an analytical solution relating the time-varying rate of flow to a constant opposing head (a rewriting of the "constant drawdown" formula) failed to reconcile the measured rates, though estimates provided by use of the formula differed by only about 15 percent. Numerical simulation techniques were also used to estimate the rate of artesian flow from the source aquifer, a permeable zone at about 1,200 feet below land surface, near the top of the Upper Floridan aquifer in southeastern Florida. The selected simulation code contained a well-riser model that was used to account for friction losses in the well. Construction of a highly generalized model of the Floridan aquifer system for the flow-rate analysis, and the determination of a set of predevelopment head values for use as an initial condition, permitted simulation of the effects of recharge through leaky confining layers or from aquifer boundaries at a finite distance from the well. The conceptual model supported by the calibration of the model of the Floridan aquifer system is that a hydraulically uniform Lower Floridan aquifer ("Boulder Zone") provides recharge to the Upper Floridan aquifer through a leaky middle confining unit, and head variations in the Upper Floridan aquifer are related to variations in the thickness of the zone of fresh and brackish water extending downward into the confining unit. Results of the flow-rate analysis indicated that the flow rate should reach equilibrium after about 1 week because the Upper Floridan aquifer received recharge from the Boulder Zone through the intervening middle confining unit. The well modifications probably only decreased the rate of flow by 18 to 19 percent. A sensitivity analysis indicated that variation in the roughness coefficient of a degree that could represent severe deterioration of the well casing decreased the estimated flow rate by about 17.5 percent. Another sensitivity analysis indicated that installation of 80 feet of 8-inch liner had only a slight effect on the flow rate. The flow-rate inconsistency was not fully resolved by the analysis, but could be explained as a combination of the result of well modification, deterioration of the condition of the well, and other factors not amenable to analysis (inaccuracy in one or more of the flow-rate measurements or greater than estimated losses through the casing). The transmissivity of the source aquifer was estimated to be 11,125 feet squared per day at the well site. Besides the construction of a generalized model of the Floridan aquifer system, the most significant result of the analysis was the demonstration of a simulation approach for accurately showing the relation between aquifer characteristics and the rate of flow from artesian wells. However, this approach requires considerably more analytical effort and data describing aquifer properties than does application of the constant drawdown formula.
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South Florida Ecosystem Program: Quantifying freshwater discharge for coastal hydraulic control structures in eastern Dade County, Florida
The South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Program is an intergovernmental effort, involving a number of agencies, to reestablish and maintain the ecosystem of south Florida. One element of the restoration effort is the development of a firm scientific basis for resource decision making. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), one of the agencies, provides scientific information as part of the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Program. The USGS began their ow program, called the South Florida Ecosystem Program, in fiscal year 1995 for the purpose of gathering hydrologic, cartographic, and geologic data that relate to the mainland of south Florida, Florida Bay, and the Florida Keys and Reef ecosystems. As part of the South Florida Ecosystem Program, the USGS, in cooperation with the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), has conducted a study to determine discharge ratings for 16 coastal hydraulic control structures in eastern Dade County, Fla. Discharge data are needed to quantify water that can be made available for water supply and ecosystem restoration and to calibrate regional hydrologic models.
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Computation of the time-varying flow rate from an artesian well in central Dade County, Florida, by analytical and numerical simulation methods
To construct a digital simulation of a plume of brackish water in the surficial Biscayne aquifer of central Dade County, Florida, that originated from a flowing artesian well, it was necessary to quantify the rate of spillage and the consequent point-source loading of the aquifer. However, a flow-rate measurement (2,350 gallons per minute) made 2 months after drilling of the well in 1944 was inconsistent with later measurements (1,170 gallons per minute) in 1964, 1965, and 1969. Possible explanations were the: (1) drawdown of the aquifer over time; (2) raising of the altitude at which the water was discharged; (3) installation of 80 feet of 8-inch liner; (4) an increase in the density of the flowing water; and (5) gradual deterioration of the well casing. The first approach to reconciling the measured flow rates was to apply a form of the equation for constant-drawdown analysis often used to estimate aquifer transmissivity. Next, a numerical simulation analysis was made that provided the means to account for friction loss in the well and recharge across vertically adjacent confining layers and from lateral boundaries. The numerical analysis required the construction of a generalized model of the subsurface from the surficial Biscayne aquifer to the cavernous, dolomitic Boulder Zone at a depth of 3,000 feet. Calibration of the generalized flow model required that the moddle confining unit of the Floridan aquifer system separating the artesian flow zone in the Upper Floridan aquifer from the Lower Floridan aquifer (the Boulder Zone) have a vertical hydraulic conductivity of at least 1 foot per day. The intermediate confining unit separating the flow zone from the surficial Biscayne aquifer was assigned a much lower hydraulic conductivity (0.01 foot per day or less). The model indicated that the observed mounding of Upper Floridan aquifer heads along the axis of the Florida Peninsula was related to the variable depth of the freshwater and brackish-water zone overlying deeper saline water. The analyses only partly reconciled the two rates. The second rate was accepted as representative of the conditions prevailing at the time of its measurement. On the basis of flowmeter logging, it was assumed that an additional 230 gallons per minute escaped through the corroded casing at that time. Factors not amenable to analysis, such as the inherent inaccuracy of the method of estimating flow from the well and possible error in estimating losses through the casing, could easily account for the remainder of the difference between the two measured rates.
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Simulation of the water-table altitude in the Biscayne Aquifer, southern Dade County, Florida, water years 1945-89
A digital model of the flow system in the highly permeable surficial Biscayne aquifer of southern Dade County, Florida, was constructed for the purposes of better understanding processes that influence the flow system and of supporting the construction of a subregional model of the transport of brackish water from a flowing artesian well. Problems that needed resolution in this endeavor included the development of methods to represent the influence of flowing surface water in seasonally inundated wetlands and the influence of a network of controlled canals developed in stages during the simulation time period (water years 1945-89). An additional problem was the general lack of natural aquifer boundaries near the boundaries of the study area. The model construction was based on a conceptual description of the Biscayne aquifer developed from the results of previous U.S. Geological Survey investigations. Modifications were made to an existing three-dimensional finite-difference simulator of ground-water flow to enable an upper layer of the grid to represent seasonally occurring overland sheetflow in a series of transient simulations of water levels from 1945 to 1989. A rewetting procedure was developed for the simulator that permitted resaturation of cells in this layer when the wet season recurred. An "equivalent hydraulic conductivity" coefficient was assigned to the overland flow layer that was analogous, subject to various approximations, to the use of the Manning equation. The surficial semiconfining peat and marl layers, levees, canals, and control structures were also represented as part of the model grid with the appropriate choices of hydraulic coefficient values. For most of the Biscayne aquifer grid cells, the value assigned to hydraulic conductivity for model calibration was 30,000 feet per day and the value assigned to porosity was 20 percent. Boundary conditions were specified near data sites having long-term records of surface-water stages or water-table altitudes, and modifications to the simulator permitted the specification of time-varying pressures at boundary grid cells. Rainfall data from a station in Homestead generally were used as an areally uniform rainfall specification throughout the modeled region. Maximum evapotranspiration rates ranged seasonally from a minimum of 0.08 inch per day in January to a maximum of 0.21 inch per day between June and October. Shallow-root and deep-root zone depths for the evapotranspiration calculation were 3 and 20 feet in the coastal ridge and were 0.10 and 5 feet in the glades regions where peat and marl covers occurred. Results of sensitivity analyses indicated that the simulations of stages and water levels were relatively unresponsive to 50 percent changes in aquifer hydraulic conductivity, porosity, and the equivalent hydraulic conductivity of overland flow. However, 20 percent changes in rainfall and maximum evapotranspiration rates produced significantly different water levels, as did interchange of coastal ridge and glades deep-root zone (extinction) depths. Water levels were simulated very well at most measurement sites. Sensitivity analyses illustrated the significant influence of the uncontrolled agricultural drainage canals on pre-1968 regional water levels and the further influence of Black Creek Canal in draining a region of high water after 1961. Other analyses indicated that the flood-control system of 1968-82 lowered peak water levels in the affected region by as much as 1.5 feet in the wet summers of 1968, 1969, and 1981, and that Levee 67 Extended channeled flows from the S-12 spillway structures and raised overland flow stages in Shark River Slough. Hypothetical scenarios of well-field pumping in the vicinity of Levee 31N indicated that the pumping induced a significant amount of recharge from the adjacent borrow canal, the degree of which depended on the distance between the canal and the well field. The computed ratio of evapotranspiration to rainfall recharge ranged from 88 to 94 percent during water years 1945-82. The ratio increased to about 97.9 percent during water years 1983-89, possibly because of changing water-management practices and deficient rainfall.
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Altitude of the water table in the Biscayne aquifer, Dade County, Florida, April 25-28, 1988
No abstract available.
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Hydrogeology of the surficial aquifer system, Dade County, Florida
An investigation of the surficial aquifer system in Dade County, begun in 1983, is part of a regional study of the aquifer system in southeastern Florida. Test drilling for lithologic samples, flow measurements during drilling, aquifer testing, and analyses of earlier data permitted delineation of the hydraulic conductivity distribution (on hydrogeologic sections), the aquifers in the system, the generalized transmissivity distribution, and interpretation of the ground-water flow system. The surficial aquifer system, in which an unconfined ground-water flow system exists, is composed of the sediments from land surface downward to the top of a regionally extensive zone of sediments of low permeability called the intermediate confining unit. The aquifer system units, which vary in composition from clay-size sediments to cavernous limestone, are hydro stratigraphically divided into the Biscayne aquifer at the top; an intervening semiconfining unit that consists principally of clayey sand; a predominantly gray limestone aquifer in the Tamiami Formation in western and west-central Dade County; and sand or clayey sand near the base of the surficial aquifer system. The base of the surficial aquifer system ranges from a depth of about 175 to 210 feet below land surface in westernmost Dade County to greater than 270 feet in northeastern Dade County. Test drilling and aquifer-test data indicate a complex hydraulic conductivity distribution. Hydraulic conductivities of the very highly permeable zone of the Biscayne aquifer commonly exceed 10,000 feet per day; in the gray limestone aquifer, they range from 210 to 780 feet per day. Transmissivities of the surficial aquifer system vary locally but have a recognizable areal trend. Estimated values generally are about 300,000 feet squared per day or greater in nearly all of central and eastern Dade County. Transmissivity is lower to the west, decreasing to less than 75,000 feet squared per day in western Dade County. High transmissivity usually is associated with thick sections of the Fort Thompson Formation within the Biscayne aquifer. The gray limestone aquifer of the Tamiami Formation has transmissivities that range from 5,800 to 39,000 feet squared per day in western Dade County. The transition from high transmissivity to relatively low transmissivity is often only a few miles wide and coincides with the decrease in thickness of the very highly permeable Fort Thompson Formation, which marks the western boundary of the Biscayne aquifer. More effective drainage as a result of extensive canal systems and large-scale pumping from municipal well fields has greatly altered the predevelopment flow system in eastern Dade County by: (1) eliminating or greatly reducing a seasonal and coastal ground-water ridge; (2) reducing deep circulation; (3) reducing or eliminating seasonal westward movement of ground water; (4) causing accelerated stormwater runoff and short ground-water flow paths; and (5) generally lowering the water table and inducing saltwater intrusion. Under predevelopment conditions in western Dade County, water entered the gray limestone aquifer by lateral movement from Broward and Collier Counties, and by downward seepage from The Everglades and the Biscayne aquifer, and moved southward and southeastward into Dade County to coastal discharge areas. Circulation in the Biscayne aquifer inland also was primarily to the south and southeast. In eastern Dade County, the seasonal ground-water ridge that formed under predevelopment conditions supported both easterly and westerly ground-water flow away from the ridge axis. This seasonal flow created a zone of lower dissolved solids.
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A method to estimate canal leakage to the Biscayne Aquifer, Dade County, Florida
The leakage characteristics of channels that partially penetrate the Biscayne aquifer and have reduced bed permeability were studied. Leakage characteristics were described in terms of a reach transmissivity-defined as the volume flow rate out of the channel per unit length of the channel per unit drawdown, where drawdown is defined as the difference in altitude between the water surface in the canal and the water table in the adjacent aquifer. A theoretical expression was developed to relate the reach transmissivity to the transmissivity of the formation, mean channel width, distance of drawdown measurement from the channel centerline, ratio of drawdowns on both sides of the channel, and local reach transmissivity associated with reduced bed permeability. This theoretical expression was verified using a fine-scale numerical model, which gave accurate results when drawdowns were measured beyond 10 aquifer depths from the side of the channel. Using the theoretical formulation, it is shown that the reach transmissivity employed in regional ground-water models, which are based on average drawdowns within a cell, depends on the size of the cell as well as the transmissivity of the formation, channel width, and local reach transmissivity due to reduced bed permeability. The theoretical reach transmissivity function was compared with field measurements at L-31N Canal and Snapper Creek Extension Canal in Dade County, Florida. Analyses of the data for both canals showed good agreement between the estimated and measured reach transmissivities. At L- 31N Canal, field measurements indicated that the local reach transmissivity was relatively uniform over a 2-mile reach of the channel (averaging 630 cubic feet per second per mile per foot), and the formation transmissivity was 1.8 x106 feet squared per day. At Snapper Creek Extension Canal, an approximate analysis was necessary due to the inability of the acoustic velocity meter to measure very low water velocities in the channel. Assuming an aquifer transmissivity of 1 x 106 feet squared per day, drawdown measurements indicated that the local reach transmissivity was about 400 cubic feet per second per mile per foot. The theoretical relation, combined with the local reach transmissivity and formation transmissivity, was sufficient to predict the leakage out of L-31N Canal and Snapper Creek Extension Canal for any drawdown scenario.
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Changes in saltwater intrusion in the Biscayne aquifer, Hialeah-Miami Springs area, Dade County, Florida
A lobe of salty groundwater that had intruded the Hialeah-Miami Springs area municipal well field, adjacent to the Miami and Tamiami Canals in Dade County, Florida, was stabilized after flow-regulation structures were installed in the canals in 1946. However, in 1971, the saltwater began to readvance toward the center of the well field because of water level declines caused by large increases in withdrawals during a near-record dry season. To better protect the well field, a temporary flow-regulation structure, constructed in 1971, in the Tamiami Canal was moved in 1976 to a permanent site, about 3,000 ft farther seaward; this converted that tidal reach of canal to a controlled reach under a sustained freshwater head. This water management procedure resulted in dilution of the intruding saltwater lobe and a marked concentration of its size even though large municipal withdrawals continued. (USGS)
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Chemical characteristics of water in the surficial aquifer system, Dade County, Florida
Geohydrologic test drilling was conducted throughout Dade County to describe the chemical characteristics of water from geohydrologic units in the surficial aquifer system. Water quality analysis of samples collected from the test wells completed in central Dade County indicates that the Biscayne aquifer (unit A), the upper clastic unit of the Tamiami Formation (unit B), and parts of a limestone, sandstone, and sand unit of the Tamiami Formation (unit C) have been effectively flushed of residual seawater, and contain primarily calcium bicarbonate groundwater. The lower parts of unit C and the lower clastic unit of the Tamiami Formation (unit D) primarily contain calcium-sodium bicarbonate or sodium bicarbonate type water. An analysis of variance test indicates that water in units A and B is not significantly (0.05 probability level) different in composition. Mean concentrations of dissolved solids, sodium, and chloride are significantly different between units A and C, whereas mean concentrations of dissolved solids, calcium, sodium, and chloride are significantly different between units A and D. Groundwater in the surficial aquifer system in northwestern Dade County is more mineralized than groundwater that occurs elsewhere in the county (except in coastal areas affected by saltwater). An analysis of variance test indicates that mean concentrations of dissolved solids, sodium, and chloride at sites in northwestern Dade County, developed in units A and C, are significantly different from the mean concentrations of these constituents at sites throughout the rest of the county. Water in this part of the surficial aquifer system is similar to highly mineralized water found in western Broward County. However, in northwestern Dade County, the groundwater has been diluted to a greater extent by less mineralized recharge water. Overall, groundwater in the four major geohydrologic units of the surficial aquifer system of Dade County is suitable for most uses. Maximum concentrations of sodium, chloride, color, fluoride, iron, and dissolved solids in some areas of Dade County, however, exceed maximum contaminant levels established by the Florida Primary and Secondary Drinking Water Regulations standards. (Author 's abstract)
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Geology of the surficial aquifer system, Dade County, Florida: Lithologic logs
The geologic framework of the surficial aquifer system in Dade County, Florida, was investigated as part of a longterm study by the USGS in cooperation with the South Florida Water Management District, to describe the geology, hydrologic characteristics, and groundwater quality of the surficial aquifer system. Thirty-three test wells were drilled completely through the surficial aquifer system and into the underlying, relatively impermeable units of the Tamiami and Hawthorn Formations. Detailed lithologic logs were made from microscopic examination of rock cuttings and cores obtained from these wells. The logs were used to prepare geologic sections that show the lithologic variations, thickness of the lithologic units, and different geologic formations that comprise the aquifers system.
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Potentiometric surface of the Biscayne aquifer, northwest well field Dade County, Florida, October 16, 1984
No abstract available.
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Attenuation of stormwater contaminants from highway runoff within unsaturated limestone, Dade County, Florida
Infiltration of stormwater in heavily urbanized parts of Dade County, Florida, is a prime source of recharge to the unconfined Biscayne aquifer, the sole source of drinking water for southeast Florida. Ponded stormwater at the test site contained greater concentrations of lead, zinc, manganese, nitrogen (except nitrate), and phosphorus than the water which percolated through the unsaturated limestone. Attenuation of some stormwater contaminants in the surface soils and limestone is indicated at the test site adjacent to a busy throughfare. Lead concentrations of 610 micrograms per kilogram and zinc concentrations of 91 micrograms per kilogram were found in the thin surface soils, nearly 20 times more than the concentrations of these metals at greater depth. In contrast, soil and rock sample at a control site remote from heavy traffic contained low concentrations of metals and showed little variation in concentration with depth. (USGS)
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Water quality at and adjacent to the south Dade County solid-waste disposal facility, Florida
A water-quality reconnaissance was conducted at the south Dade County solid-waste landfill near Goulds, Florida, from December 1977 through August 1978. The landfill is located directly on the unconfined Biscayne aquifer, which, in the study area, is affected by saltwater intrusion. Water samples collected from six monitor well sites at two depths and four surface-water sites were analyzed to determine the chemical, physical, and biological conditions of the ground water and surface water of the study area. Results indicated that water quality beneath the landfill was highly variable with location and depth. Leachate was generally more evident in the shallow wells and during the dry-season sampling, but was greatly diluted and dispersed in the deep wells and during the wet season. High concentrations of contaminants were generated primarily in areas of the landfill with the most recent waste deposits. Chloride (limited to the shallow wells and the dry season), alkalinity, ammonia, iron, manganese, lead, phosphorus, and organic nitrogen indicate leachate contamination of the aquifer. Water-quality characteristics in the surface waters were generally only slightly above background levels. (USGS)
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Altitude of water table, Biscayne aquifer, Dade County, Florida, October 1978
No abstract available.
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Water-level contour map of the Alexander Orr and southwest well-field areas, Dade County, Florida, October 12, 1978
No abstract available.
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Stormwater-runoff data for a multifamily residential area, Dade County, Florida
Rainfall, stormwater discharge, and water-quality data for a multifamily residential area in Dade County, Florida, are summarized in this report. Loads for 19 water-quality constituents were computed for runoff from 16 storms from May 1977 through June 1978. The 14.7 acre basin contains apartment buildings with adjacent parking lots. The total surface area consists of 70.7 percent impervious material.
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