Surficial Aquifer System in Eastern Lee County, Florida

Water-Resources Investigations Report 85-4161

By D. H. Boggess and F.A. Watkins, Jr.

ABSTRACT

The surficial aquifer system in eastern Lee County consists of an upper water-bearing unit, which is generally unconfined, and a lower water-bearing unit which is confined and is the major source tapped by most wells. The top of the lower unit, which is of primary interest in this report, ranges in depth from 40 to 60 feet below land surface in the east-central part of the county to more than 120 feet in the southern part. In the extreme southern part of the county, a middle water-bearing unit also contains water under artesian pressure.

Recharge to the lower unit occurs primarily by leakage from the overlying saturated section through the confining beds. Water levels in the lower unit fluctuate similarly to those in the upper ( unconfined ) unit. Ground water in the lower unit moves from areas of highest water level in the south part of Lehigh Acres, northward toward the Caloosahatchee River, and toward the coast.

The lower unit contains fresh water throughout much of its extent and is the source of public water supply at Lehigh Acres and Green Meadows where an average of about 3 million gallons per day was withdrawn in 1980. In several areas, the concentrations of chlorides and dissolved solids exceed drinking water standards.

Yields of wells that tap the water unit range from 10 to 1,100 gallons per minute. Transmissivities ranging from about 1,700 to 7,750 feet squared per day were determined for different areas of the unit. Storage coefficients range from 0.0001 to 0.0003.

(The entire report is available below.)

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