RESEARCH

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Hydrology, water conservation and quality in the Southern Everglades Region

Water related issues have a profound impact on crop management and production in the southern Everglades region around the Everglades National Park (ENP). This area is susceptible to hydrological changes resulting from the on-going federally authorized Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Project (CERP). CERP authorizes modifications of the existing surface water management system designed to re-establish historic freshwater flows that restore more natural hydro-patterns in the Park and contribute to ecosystem restoration. Limited knowledge about the hydrological system (i.e., the relationship between canals and ground water levels, the local susceptibility to flooding, aquifer heterogeneity, soil moisture holding capacity) and its effects on crops (i.e., crop responses to flooding and irrigation), local and regional flow and chemical transport patterns are all major concerns for all stakeholders in the area. Moreover, the effectiveness of existing water-management tools (i.e., large scale computer models currently used in the South Dade area) needs to be reassessed in the context of an essentially flat area where micro-topography plays an important role in flooding and plant water availability. In a recent survey conducted as part of the South Dade Agricultural Retention Study, hydrology was listed as the number one concern among growers. To address these questions a new hydrology program has been established by Dr. Rafael Muñoz-Carpena at the University of Florida’s Tropical Research and Education Center (TREC). TREC’s hydrology team is currently focusing on two distinct water research issues. This research is closely integrated with our extension programs. Details follow:

Shallow limestone Biscayne Aquifer and thin "rock plowed" soil common in south Miami-Dade

·        Modification of hydrological patterns by the Everglades Restoration processes  ·        Development of best management practices (BMP) to protect surface and ground water quality and meet TMDLs (Total Maximum Daily Loads).

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