Internal Surface-water Flows

Proposed modified water deliveries to Indian Tribal Lands, Big Cypress National Preserve, and Water Conservation Area 3A require that flow and nutrient loads at critical points in the interior surface water network be measured. Defining the foundation for water levels, flows, and nutrient loads has become an important baseline for Storm Treatment Area 5 and 6 development, recent C-139 Basin flow re-diversions, and future L-28 Interceptor Canal de-compartmentaliztion including flow rerouting into the Big Cypress Preserve. Flow monitoring for the two primary flow routes for both L-28 Interceptor Canal and L-28 is key to developing this network. Data are available for L-28 Interceptor Canal below S-190, L-28 Canal above S-140, and L-28 Interceptor South
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The accurate determination of flow through the interior canal networks south of Lake Okeechobee and the C-139 basin remains critical for water budgets and regional model calibrations as defined by the Everglades Forever Act of 1994 and due to the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) initiative to reroute Big Cypress Preserve flows. The implementation of strategically located stream flow gaging points and associated data collection for nutrients has helped define future surface-water flow requirements and has provided valuable baseline flow data prior to the establishment of the recently constructed northern Storm Treatment Areas (STA’s 5 and 6) and the Rotenberger Wildlife Management Area. Generating continuous flow data at selected impact points for interior basins has complemented the existing eastern coastal canal discharge network, and has allowed for more accurately timed surface-water releases while providing flow and nutrient monitoring after recent STA implementation. A unique multi-agency experiment was conducted with much success with the focus on cooperation and development of new instrumentation and acoustic flow-weight auto-sampler protocols. The original data collection and processing was provided by three separate entities at each site with responsibilities originally allocated between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and SFWMD. USGS provides calibration, analysis and processing of acoustic velocity meters (AVM’s) and side-looking Doppler systems and stage shaft encoders, SFWMD provides data loggers with real-time flow-weighted algorithms, and radio frequency (RF) telemetry instrumentation. The Seminole Tribe provides auto-sampler service and funds nutrient load analysis through the USGS Ocala Lab.