Aquifer Storage and Recovery:
The Solution to South Florida’s
Water Scarcity?
Jessica Pollock
Water Resources
Fall 2005
Why need for ASR?
Everyday, 1.7 billion gallons of water are
diverted from the Everglades and drained
off both east and west coasts
This water historically flowed through the
Everglades recharging the Biscayne and
Floridan Aquifers
Not enough water for domestic/municipal,
agricultural, and ecosystem
Why? continued
South Florida population expected to
double within 40 years
ASR does not require large land acreage,
as does water storage areas
Ecosystems suffer
– Florida Bay, Everglades, saline coastline
environments
What is ASR?
Treatment of water to drinking standards
Pumping of water into Floridan Aquifer
Later recovery of stored water
Has been used in Florida since 1983
Will take 20 years to complete
Will be largest ASR project in world
Floridan Aquifer has natural salty brine
Freshwater pumped into aquifer will have
zone of mixing
Freshwater will create a “bubble”
Plans
Water from ‘wet season’ is to be stored for
further usage in ‘dry season’ – also tourist
season
Water storage is planned for multi-year
usage
Wells capacity of 5 MGD to equal 1.6 to
1.7 billion GD pumping capacity
Largest ASR project ever undertaken
3 pilot projects currently ongoing since
2000
Pilot projects will continue until 2008
If results successful, larger construction
will take place
Concerns
Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan
(CERP) relies heavily on ASR success for
restoration
CERP expects 70% recovery rate, may be too
optimistic
5 MGD wells – 2 to 5 times higher than currently
used in Florida
Physical and Chemical properties should be
expected to vary at each site – water as well
Concerns
East coast wells seem more productive
than West coast wells
Treated water injected into natural brine –
chemical interactions, potential release?
Will water be potable when recovered?
Multi-year use has never been done in FL
Fractured bedrock
Regional changes in flow patterns
DIW of wastewater
Advantages
Acts as above ground reservoir, without
the evaporation
Requires less land
More Advantages
Natural Aquifers – natural surface water
recharges
Will allow for more steady flow in
Everglades – species rebound?
More environmentally sound and cost
effective than alternatives
Will provide flood protection after many
ACOE provisions taken out
The “New” Everglades
The Everglades Restoration is a “microcosm
of the entire environmental movement.”
- largest ASR project in the world
-largest constructed wetland in the world
Sources:
“Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan Aquifer Storage and Recovery
Program.” Everglades Plan. 6 December 2005.
<http://www.evergladesplan.org/
facts_info/syutkma_asr.cfm>
Dugger, Aubrey. “The South Florida Everglades Restoration Project.” 1996. 31
Oct 2001. <http://www.ce.utexas.edu/prof/maidment/
grad/degger/GLADES/glades.html>
“Large-scale Ecosystem Restoration Initiatives: Protecting and Restoring the
South Florida Everglades.” Northeast Midwest Institute. 02 Oct 2005.
<http://www.nemw.org/everglades.htm>
“Review of Aquifer Storage and Recovery in the Floridan Aquifer System of
Southern Florida.” United States Geological Survey. 2004. 6 December
2005. <http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2004/3128/pdf/fs-2004-3128-Reese.pdf>
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District; South Florida Water
Management District. “Environmental and Economical Equity Program
Management Plan: Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan.”
August 2001. 20 Oct 2005. <www.evergladesplan.org/pm/
pm_docs/eee/exec_summary_aug2001.pdf>