SFWMD Takes ‘Unprecedented Actions’ to Lower Water Levels

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SFWMD Takes ‘Unprecedented Actions’ to Lower Water Levels

In response to high water levels brought on by record dry season rainfall, the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) is taking unprecedented steps to provide additional relief within the regional water management system

SFWMD water managers are now moving up to 96 million gallons of water per day into the C-4 Emergency Detention Basin in southern Miami-Dade County. This facility, built following Hurricane Irene in 1999 and an unnamed storm in 2000, is a 900- acre impoundment area that is used by the District to provide flood protection for local residents and businesses. Its use starting today helps to relieve high water in the Everglades Water Conservation Areas.

Additionally, the District will start injecting up to 5 million gallons of water per day into the Hillsboro Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) Pilot well, located just south of the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge on the Hillsboro Canal. The deep well was constructed as part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) to test the use of ASR technology for storing water underground to benefit the Everglades and other natural systems.

The ASR facility can pump 3,500 gallons of water per minute from the Hillsboro Canal. The water is treated first with a mechanical filter and then an ultraviolet disinfection system before being pumped 1,000 feet underground into the Floridan Aquifer.

The District continues working with state and federal agencies to identify options for lowering water levels in Lake Okeechobee and the Water Conservation Areas while reducing lake discharges to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries.

Source: Florida Water Daily

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