Review of selected features of the Natural Systems Model and suggestions for applications in South Florida suggestions for applications in South Florida

The south Florida ecosystem has been greatly altered during the last 100 years. Drainage of the south Florida watershed began in the early 1880's, and by the early 1990's about 50 percent of the historic Everglades had been drained. In response to flooding and to provide water for a variety of human uses, a complex water-management system that includes levees, well fields, pumps, canals, and control structures was constructed throughout south Florida. Today, the south Florida ecosystem includes urban areas near the coast where nearly 4 million people live, intensively developed agricultural areas in the northern Everglades, and rangelands and wetlands throughout the region.

The South Florida Water Management Model (SFWMM) was developed by the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) in the late 1970's and early 1980's to simulate the hydrology and the highly managed water system in an approximately 7,600-mi square mile area of south Florida. The effects of water-management activities, including ground-water pumping and canal control-structure operations, on time-varying ground-and surface-water conditions and on canal flows are simulated for selected land-use and water-management scenarios. The SFWMM is currently used by the SFWMD to evaluate feasible water-supply alternatives for projected land use and water demand in south Florida during the next 10-20 years.