Quantification of Ground-Water Seepage Beneath Levee 31N, Miami-Dade County, Florida

Project Investigator: Helena Solo-Gabriele Project Start Date: 1995 End Date: 2000 Proposals Project Summaries Metadata Publications Related Links

Summary

The objective of this study is to develop a model that can be used to estimate the effect of water-level changes on subsurface seepage beneath L-31N, and water deliveries to the area can be adjusted based on estimates of seepage losses.

Please note: This project is related to the USGS project "Evaluation of Methods to Determine Groundwater Seepage Beneath Levee 30, Miami-Dade County, Florida"

A coupled ground- and surface-water model (MODBRANCH) was developed to estimate ground-water flow beneath Levee 31N in Miami-Dade County, Florida, and to simulate the hydrologic conditions in the surrounding area. The study included compilation of data from monitoring stations, measurement of vertical seepage rates in wetlands, and analysis of the hydrogeologic properties of the ground-water aquifer within the study area. In addition, the MODBRANCH code was modified to calculate the exchange between surface-water channels and ground water using a relation based on the concept of reach transmissivity. Seepage meters were used to quantify vertical seepage rates in the Everglades wetlands area west of Levee 31N. A comparison between results from the seepage meters and from the computer model indicated substantial differences that seemed to be a result of local variations in the hydraulic properties in the topmost part of the Biscayne aquifer. The modified reach-transmissivity version of the MODBRANCH model was judged to have performed satisfactorily and offered considerable advantages over the use of the original formulation. This computer model was employed to simulate seepage of groundwater beneath Levee 31N. The modeled seepage results were used to develop an algorithm to estimate seepage based on head differential at selected monitoring stations. The algorithm was determined to adequately predict ground-water seepage.

Subsurface flows beneath Levee 31N, a 7-mile portion of the Everglades perimeter system, is considered a major outflow component of the Everglades water budget as well as an important inflow component to the urban aquifer system. Levee 31N is the eastern border of northeastern Everglades National Park, a region that currently suffers from inadequate water deliveries. Restoration efforts in this area will focus on changing current water levels. This project has been approved for publication as USGS Water-Resources Investigations Report 00-4066. A manuscript from this project is currently in preparation and will be submitted shortly to a peer-reviewed journal.

Proposals

• 1998
• 1999

Project Summaries

• 2001

Metadata

• Evaluation of Methods to Determine Ground-water Seepage Below Levee 31N, Dade County Florida (project metadata)

Publications

Abstracts

• A Seepage Study of the East Everglades
• Methods for Quantifying Ground-Water Seepage Beneath Levee 31N, Miami-Dade County, Florida (from the South Florida Restoration Science Forum, May 1999)
• Quantification of Ground-Water Seepage Beneath Levee 31N, Miami-Dade County, Florida (from the GEER Conference, December 2000)

Papers

• Evaluation of the use of reach transmissivity to quantify exchange between groundwater and surface water (published in the Journal of Hydrology, and available from the Ingenta website)

Reports

• An Isotopic Study of Northeast Everglades National Park and Adjacent Urban Areas (PDF, 23 MB. You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this file. Download Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Water Resources Investigations Reports

• Evaluation of the Use of Reach Transmissivity to Quantify Leakage Beneath Levee 31N, Miami-Dade County, Florida (WRI 00-4066)

Related Links

• West Wellfield/L31-N Study (University of Miami Project Page)