SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT LOWRP AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY WELLS: A LOOK INTO AN EVOLVING PROJECT

The Lake Okeechobee Watershed Restoration Project (LOWRP) is part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan planning effort, the largest hydrologic restoration project in U.S. history. Designed to improve water levels and water quality in Lake Okeechobee, the LOWRP also will improve the quantity and timing of discharges to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries, increase the size and functionality of wetlands, and improve water supply for existing legal water users. The aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) program will consist of approximately 55 ASR wells completed in two separate flow zones; Upper Floridan aquifer (UFA) and the Avon Park permeable zone (APPZ). Each ASR well is designed to recharge and recover approximately 5 MGD with a combined ASR wellfield capacity of 275 MGD of treated surface water to help fortify South Florida’s ecology and surface water systems.

Preliminary findings and data from the four 5-day aquifer performance tests (APTs) at the C-38N and C-38S sites will help to determine aquifer hydraulics, local geological framework, and evaluate if there is leakance between aquifers or semi-confining units. The APTs consisted of a simultaneous artesian flow tests and constant-rate pumping tests at approximately 5,200 gpm (individually and simultaneously) on both the UFA and APPZ ASR wells. Data from the APTs and geological framework interpretations will be input and built into a groundwater model to determine if 1,000 feet of spacing between well pairs is adequate.