Groundwater Seepage in the Florida Keys

This project installed seepage meters to measure the volume of groundwater seepage into the overlying marine environment. The water will be analyzed for major nutrient levels. The data from this project include the site and values of seepage flux.

The Florida Keys contain 25,000 septic tank systems, approximately 5000 cesspools, and 1000 class 5 injection wells. Depth of injection wells ranges from 10 to 30 meters. Excessive algal growth, coral diseases, and both marine grass and sponge lortality is perceived to be caused by sewage nutrients leaking from roundwater on both sides of the Florida Keys. Determining the volume and composition of groundwaters seeping into the marine environment from teh sea floor is vital to management decisions on the area. The objective of this study was to determine the volume and composition of groundwaters seeping upward through the rock water interface into Florida Bay and the coral reef tract. Submarine groundwater input into Florida Bay has been ignored by modelers and results show current models are likely to be erroneous. An additional major product will be an improved seepage meter design.