Transcript Florida’s Hydrological Environment and Salt Water Intrusion

Florida’s Hydrological
Environment
and
Salt Water Intrusion
• South Florida
• Generally wet region
• Annual average rainfall 53in
• Hydraulic gradient is from north to south
• Excess surface water flows from Upper
Kissimmee basin to Everglades in the south
• Discharges also in east and west
• Center of hydrological system of South
Florida is Lake Okeechobee
• Large storage capacity
• Complex water
management in the
region
• Due to high rainfall,
periods of drought,
hurricanes, etc.
• Excess water stored in
lakes, detention ponds,
impoundments, aquifers,
or is discharged to the
coast and the estuaries
• Outflows from Lake
Okeechobee are received
by the St. Lucie River,
Caloosahatchee River, and
the Everglades
Agricultural area
Tcpalm
Historic and Current Flow of Water
The present system of natural
and canal drainage is
superimposed in blue on a
Landsat mosaic
http://fas.org/irp/imint/docs/rst/Sect3/Sect3_8.html
Saltwater Intrusion
• Happens when a large amount of saltwater moves into an aquifer’s freshwater
supply, making the water brackish
• Factors that cause saltwater intrusion:
• Sea level rise
• Shuttling of fresh rain water that would normally be used to recharge
the aquifer to different area
• We do this with our canal system that takes a large amount of
freshwater out to the ocean instead of through the Everglades
• Happens when level of aquifer is withdrawn at faster rate than
freshwater can be replenished
•
Too many people using the aquifer
• Biscayne Aquifer
• Saltwater intrusion due to:
• Drainage of area due to canals
• Seepage of saltwater into the aquifer through the canals
• Over usage of the available freshwater in the aquifer