Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Hydrogeologic Framework and Geologic Structure of the Floridan Aquifer System and Intermediate Confining Unit in the Lake Okeechobee Area, Florida POLK OSCEOLA INDIAN RIVER COUNTY COUNTY COUNTY ATLANTIC OCEAN OKEECHOBEE COUNTY X ROMP29A Lake Istokpoga OKF-105 Kissimmee River E' OUA-EW1 PSL-DMW A' HIGHLANDS LKOKEE_ASR ST. LUCIE COUNTY COUNTY HIF-42 MF-40 OKF-100 D MF-20 W-5439 MARTIN COUNTY TFIW-1 W-5441 W-15880 Profile 4 B' BREX-1 GLF-0002 ICW-1 Profile 3 Profile ICU IAS W-5438 St. Lucie St. Lucie Canal Profile 1 Canal profile LAKE MF-37 W-5409 GLADES COUNTY GLF-5 OKEECHOBEE A Profile 2 GLF-6 PALM BEACH W-17052 COUNTY W-5435 BGTP-1 PB-1132 LAB-TW W-16182 B CLEWRO-PW1 E LRRO-IW1 CLEW_IW-1 PBF-15 C' D' FPL-IW2 PBF-7 HENDRY COUNTY C L2-TW COLLIER COUNTY IAS ICU X' HASR-DZMW BROWARD COUNTY Pamphlet to accompany Scientific Investigations Map 3288 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Hydrogeologic Framework and Geologic Structure of the Floridan Aquifer System and Intermediate Confining Unit in the Lake Okeechobee Area, Florida By Ronald S. Reese Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pamphlet to accompany Scientific Investigations Map 3288 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior SALLY JEWELL, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Suzette M. Kimball, Acting Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2014 For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment, visit http://www.usgs.gov or call 1–888–ASK–USGS. For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod To order this and other USGS information products, visit http://store.usgs.gov Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner. Suggested citation: Reese, R.S., 2014, Hydrogeologic framework and geologic structure of the Floridan aquifer system and intermediate confining unit in the Lake Okeechobee area, Florida: U.S. Geological Scientific Investigations Map 3288, 8 sheets, plus 12-p. pamphlet, http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sim3288. ISSN 2329-132X (online) iii Contents Abstract ..........................................................................................................................................................1 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................1 Purpose and Scope ..............................................................................................................................4 Study Methods ......................................................................................................................................4 Hydrogeologic Framework ...........................................................................................................................4 Geologic Features ..........................................................................................................................................6 Upper Contact of the Ocala Limestone .............................................................................................7 Upper Contact of the Arcadia Formation ..........................................................................................7 Summary and Conclusions ...........................................................................................................................7 References .....................................................................................................................................................8 Appendixes ...................................................................................................................................................11 Figures 1. Map of study area showing wells used, seismic-reflection profiles, and stratigraphic and hydrogeologic section lines ........................................................................2 2. Chart showing correlation of hydrogeologic units as defined in this study with stratigraphic units and their lithologies ....................................................................................5 Table 1. Selected wells used to update the hydrogeologic framework of the Floridan aquifer system in the Lake Okeechobee study area, Florida ..............................................................3 Sheets 1. Stratigraphic and hydrogeologic section A–A’ ................................................................... link 2. Stratigraphic and hydrogeologic section B–B’ .................................................................. link 3. Stratigraphic and hydrogeologic section C–C’ ................................................................... link 4. Stratigraphic and hydrogeologic section D–D’ .................................................................. link 5. Stratigraphic and hydrogeologic section E–E’ ................................................................... link 6. Stratigraphic and hydrogeologic section X–X’ ................................................................... link 7. Upper contact of the Ocala Limestone and upper contact of the Avon Park Formation where the Ocala Limestone is not present ....................................................... link 8. Upper contact of Arcadia Formation .................................................................................... link iv Conversion Factors Multiply By To obtain Length foot (ft) 0.3048 meter (m) mile (mi) 1.609 kilometer (km) Flow rate million gallons per day (Mgal/d) 0.04381 cubic meter per second (m3/s) Vertical coordinate information is referenced to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD 29). Horizontal coordinate information is referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83). Altitude, as used in this report, refers to distance above the vertical datum. Hydrogeologic Framework and Geologic Structure of the Floridan Aquifer System and Intermediate Confining Unit in the Lake Okeechobee Area, Florida By Ronald S. Reese Abstract (recharge) or withdrawal (recovery). Optimal application of ASR requires knowledge of the presence of extensive, The successful implementation of aquifer storage and permeable storage zones and their confinement, suitable water recovery (ASR) as a water-management tool requires detailed quality in these zones, and suitable source-water supplies. information on the hydrologic and hydraulic properties of the The principal aquifer used for ASR in southern Florida potential water storage zones. This report presents stratigraphic is the Upper Floridan aquifer of the Floridan aquifer system. and hydrogeologic sections of the upper part of the Floridan This system, consisting of the Upper Floridan aquifer, a aquifer system and the overlying confining unit or aquifer middle confining unit, and the Lower Floridan aquifer, is system in the Lake Okeechobee area, and contour maps of overlain by the intermediate confining unit or intermediate the upper contacts of the Ocala Limestone and the Arcadia aquifer system (Miller, 1986). Formation, which are represented in the sections. The sections A regional hydrogeologic framework of the Floridan and maps illustrate hydrogeologic factors such as confinement aquifer system constructed under the CERP ASR Regional of potential storage zones, the distribution of permeability Study provides maps and hydrogeologic sections of major within the zones, and geologic features that may control the permeable zones in the system, including the Upper Floridan efficiency of injection, storage, and recovery of water, and thus aquifer, in central and southern Florida (Reese and Rich- may influence decisions on ASR activities in areas of interest ardson, 2008). Since preparation of this preliminary regional to the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. hydrogeologic framework, additional data have been collected in a seven-county area around Lake Okeechobee that allow for a more detailed identification of geologic features and a more refined hydrogeologic framework of the Floridan aquifer Introduction system, both of which are important to consider for ASR implementation (fig. 1). The additional data include data from The injection of potable water into an aquifer for later wells that have been drilled into the Floridan aquifer system withdrawal, commonly referred to as aquifer storage and since 2004 (table 1); water-based seismic-reflection data from recovery, or ASR, has been proposed as a water-management beneath Lake Okeechobee and the St. Lucie Canal (Collier strategy as part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Consulting, Inc., 2007); results of a study of the distribution Plan (CERP) to help meet the water needs of agricultural, of fractures within the Floridan aquifer system based on municipal, and recreational users, and for Everglades borehole image data collected from test wells in the study ecosystem restoration in central and southern Florida (U.S. area (Emily Richardson, South Florida Water Management Army Corps of Engineers and South Florida Water Manage- District,