Home Biscayne aquifer Hydrologic system Water quality Ground-water withdrawal Vulnerability of Biscayne aquifer Future problems of potable supplies Other drinking water sources Summary & References PDF Version

A major source of freshwater in southeast Florida is Lake Okeechobee (fig. 3). Although the Everglades-Lake Okeechobee basin and the Biscayne aquifer form a single hydrologic system within the SFWMD, Lake Okeechobee can be considered a separate source because it does not directly overlie or adjoin the Biscayne aquifer. It is the prime surface reservoir in the hydrologic system. It is supplemented by the three water-conservation areas to the south. In addition to rainfall, the lake is fed primarily from the north by the Kissimmee River and by pumpage of excess water from the northern part of the Everglades farming areas.

Water from Lake Okeechobee is used for irrigation in the agricultural area south of the lake and citrus groves east and northeast of the lake. The lake is the source of water for most of the bordering towns and farming areas and a few public supplies west and southwest of the lake. Use of water from the lake would be limited by lake-level regulations to provide navigation.

The Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority is producing small quantities of potable water from desalination of sea water and ground water from the Floridan aquifer in the Florida Keys facilities. In southeast Florida, the Floridan aquifer at depths from 800 ft to 1,500 ft yields by artesian flow, brackish water whose chloride concentration is from less than 1,500 mg/L, to about 2.500 mg/L. The brackish to saline water in the Floridan aquifer represents a very large virtually untapped source of water for uses other than those that require freshwater.

One of the methods of conserving water under consideration by the SFWMD is to store surplus storm water by injection into the Floridan aquifer. Results of tests in the Miami area by F. W. Meyer, U.S. Geological Survey (personal comm., 1977) showed that several weeks after injecting freshwater into the Floridan aquifer at a rate of 1 Mgal/d, more than 50 percent of the injected water was recovered. Further investigation testing is needed to determine the feasibility of large-scale injection and recovery of storm water. Studies are also needed to evaluate the renovation and possible subsequent recovery of treated sewage effluent injected into the Floridan aquifer.

Go back to Future problems of potable supplies | Go ahead to Summary & References