Integration of Local Hydrology into a Regional Hydrologic Simulation Model
Randy Van Zee, Eric Flaig and Wasantha Lal
South Florida Water Management District, West Palm Beach, FL
South Florida hydrology is dominated by the Central and South Florida (C&SF) Project
that is managed to provide flood protection, water supply and environmental protection.
A complex network of levees canals and structures provide these services to the
individual drainage basins. The landscape varies widely across the C&SF system, with
corresponding differences in the way water is managed within each basin. The
evaluation of planning, regulation and operational issues require a simulation model that
captures the effects of both regional and local hydrology.
The Regional Simulation Model (RSM) uses a “pseudo-cell” approach to integrate local
hydrology within the context of a regional hydrologic system. A 2-dimensional
triangulated mesh is used to represent the regional surface and ground water systems and
a 1-dimensional canal network is superimposed onto this mesh. The triangulated mesh
forms cells, each of which have a pseudo-cell counterpart. Pseudo-cells are used to
simulate the local hydrologic conditions within the cell. Protocols have been established
to provide an interface between a cell and its pseudo-cell counterpart. A number of
pseudo-cell types have been developed to deal with the undeveloped, agricultural and
urban hydrologic conditions in South Florida.
This presentation will provide an overview of the overall RSM design, describe the
relationship between cells and pseudo-cells, and illustrate how pseudo-cells are be used
to simulate agriculture, urban and wetland hydrology.