Groundwater Monitoring in the
St. Johns River Water Management District
William L. Osburn, P.G. Hydrologist IV State of Florida License #89
Don Boniol, P.G. Hydrologist PG/PE State of Florida License #560
St. Johns River Water Management District Department of Resource Management Division of Groundwater Programs
October 27, 2003
INTRODUCTION
Groundwater is the source for over 97% of the public and domestic drinking water supplies in SJRWMD. In addition, over 73% of industrial/commercial and 66% of agricultural water needs are supplied by groundwater sources. The 2000 District Water Supply Plan indicates that the population within SJRWMD is projected to increase by about 50%, to nearly 5.2 million, by the year 2020. Total water demand is projected to increase about 35% by 2020, to nearly 1.85 billion gallons per day (Vergara 2000).
As the demands on water resources increase, it is important to have an ongoing program to provide the data and information needed to assess groundwater level and quality conditions and understand what information can be obtained from groundwater monitoring. Existing and anticipated sources of groundwater may not be adequate to supply water for all existing and future needs through 2020 without causing unacceptable impacts to water resources and related natural systems. Potential impacts include declines in groundwater levels and quality, reduction in spring discharge, increases in seawater intrusion, harm to native vegetation and wetlands, and interference with existing legal users.
Projections of future water resource conditions were developed with modeling techniques that used the best information available. The accuracy of the model projections can be improved in areas where there is currently a lack of data. As a result, improved groundwater monitoring well networks were devised, addressing both regional and subregional data needed for long-term water supply planning and water resource protection. Data obtained from the well networks increase our understanding of the hydrogeologic, climatic, and human factors that affect water resources, and this information is used to assess the effectiveness of water management programs.
GROUNDWATER MONITORING
Groundwater monitoring is administered in the Division of Groundwater Programs (GWP) through the Water Resources Assessment section, a Field Services (well construction) section, and a Geophysical Logging section. The Division of Hydrologic Data Services is responsible for data collection from the network wells.
2 The objectives of the Water Resources Assessment section are to: