LITERATURE REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF GEOLOGIC LOGS TO DETERMINE THE EXTENT OF A DENSE LIMESTONE LAYER IN THE UPPER PORTION OF THE BISCAYNE AQUIFER IN THE PENNSUCO WETLANDS, MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA Technical Publication HESM-1 Amanda J. Krupa and Victor T. Mullen Jr. December 2005 South Florida Water Management District 3301 Gun Club Road West Palm Beach, FL 33306 (561) 686-8800 www.sfwmd.gov Extent of a Dense Limestone Layer in the Upper Portion of the Biscayne Aquifer Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents i List of Tables iii List of Figures v List of Abbreviations and Acronyms vii Acknowledgements ix Introduction 1 Stratigraphy of the Study Area ................................................................................2 Identification of the Dense Limestone Layer ..........................................................2 Background Information, Reports and Data 5 Klein and Sherwood, 1961.......................................................................................5 Maurrasse, 1976.......................................................................................................6 United States Army Corps of Engineers Reports ....................................................8 Stallman, 1956 .......................................................................................................12 Schroeder et al., 1958 ............................................................................................13 Labowski, 1988......................................................................................................14 Causaras, 1987 and 1985 .......................................................................................15 Fish and Stewart, 1991...........................................................................................19 Parker et al., 1955 ..................................................................................................21 Swain et al., 1991...................................................................................................22 Switanek, 2001.......................................................................................................25 Conclusions 33 References 35 i Table of Contents Extent of a Dense Limestone Layer in the Upper Portion of the Biscayne Aquifer ii Extent of a Dense Limestone Layer in the Upper Portion of the Biscayne Aquifer List of Tables LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Interpretation of Geologic Logs from Levee 30 Borings Showing the Presence of the Dense Limestone Layer ............................................................................9 Table 2. Interpretation of Geologic Logs from Structure 337 Borings Showing the Presence of the Dense Limestone Layer ...........................................................10 Table 3. Existence of the Brecciated, Dense Limestone Layer in Wells in and around the Study Area.........................................................................................................18 Table 4. Ranges of Horizontal Hydraulic Conductivity in the Surficial Aquifer System ..............................................................................................................20 Table 5. Existence of the Brecciated, Dense Limestone Layer in Wells in and around the Study Area ........................................................................................................22 Table 6. Well Information for the Boreholes in the Miami-Dade Lake Belt Area .........26 iii List of Tables Extent of a Dense Limestone Layer in the Upper Portion of the Biscayne Aquifer iv Extent of a Dense Limestone Layer in the Upper Portion of the Biscayne Aquifer List of Figures LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Location of the Study Area................................................................................1 Figure 2. Map Displaying Location of Wells from the Causaras 1987 and Switanek 2001 Studies..............................................................................................................17 Figure 3. Map Indicating the Absence of the Dense Brecciated Limestone Layer in the Borings of Causaras 1987 and Switanek 2001 Studies....................................17 Figure 4. Presence or Absence of Dense Brecciated Limestone as Indicated in the Well Logs of Parker 1955 ........................................................................................23 Figure 5. Photograph of DLBS-1 Core where Dense Limestone Zone was Identified at 5-8 feet bls .......................................................................................................27 Figure 6. Photograph of DLBS-2 Core where Dense Limestone Zone was Identified at 10-14 feet bls ...................................................................................................27 Figure 7. Photograph of DLBS-3 Core where Dense Limestone Zone was Identified at 12-15 feet bls ...................................................................................................28 Figure 8. Photograph of DLBS-4 Core where Dense Limestone Zone was Identified at 10-11 feet bls ...................................................................................................28 Figure 9. Photograph of DLBS-6 Core where Dense Limestone Zone was Possibly Identified at 15-17 feet bls ...............................................................................29 Figure 10. Photograph of DLBS-7 Core where Dense Limestone Zone was Identified at 15-20 feet bls ...................................................................................................29 Figure 11. Photograph of DLBS-8 Core where Dense Limestone Zone was Identified at 13-15 feet bls ...................................................................................................30 Figure 12. Photograph of DLBS-9 Core where Dense Limestone Zone was Identified at 9- 15 feet bls.........................................................................................................30 Figure 13. Photograph of DLBS-10 Core where Dense Limestone Zone was Identified at 3-5 feet bls .......................................................................................................31 v List of Figures Extent of a Dense Limestone Layer in the Upper Portion of the Biscayne Aquifer vi Extent of a Dense Limestone Layer in the Upper Portion of the Biscayne Aquifer List of Abbreviations LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS bls below land surface C-# Canal number DLBS Dade Lake Belt Study DERM Department of Environmental Resource Management District South Florida Water Management District gpd gallons per day L-# Levee number msl mean sea level mgd million gallons per day SAS Surficial Aquifer System SFWMD South Florida Water Management District USACE United States Army Corps of Engineers USGS United States Geological Survey WCA-3B Water Conservation Area 3B vii List of Abbreviations Extent of a Dense Limestone Layer in the Upper Portion of the Biscayne Aquifer viii Extent of a Dense Limestone Layer in the Upper Portion of the Biscayne Aquifer Acknowledgements ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors gratefully acknowledge the many people that aided in the successful completion of this project. The authors would like to acknowledge Debra Case, Debra Bennett and Jude Denick for drafting and revising the graphics for this report. We would like to thank Kevin Cunningham of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), who reviewed the manuscript and lent technical expertise to the writing of the report. The authors would also like to acknowledge Paul M. Stout and Jim Andersen of JLA Geosciences Incorporated who reviewed the manuscript. Appreciation is also extended to the technical and professional staff of the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD or District) who reviewed the manuscript. They include Cindy Bevier, April Huffman, Steve Krupa, Jose Otero, James T. Gross and Dawn Rose. ix Acknowledgements Extent of a Dense Limestone Layer in the Upper Portion of the Biscayne Aquifer x Extent of a Dense Limestone Layer in the Upper Portion of the Biscayne Aquifer Introduction INTRODUCTION The objective of this work is to describe the extent and continuity of a shallow, dense limestone layer in the upper portion of the Biscayne Aquifer in the area of the Pennsuco Wetlands and part of Water Conservation Area 3B (WCA-3B) to the west. The information will be used to develop a model layer representing this stratum for simulation of surface water and groundwater interactions. The Pennsuco Wetlands is an area about 2 miles wide and 10 miles long, on the east side of Levee 30 in the northwest Miami-Dade County limestone mining area (Figure 1). To the west of Levee 30 is WCA-3B. The study area includes the Pennsuco Wetlands, as well as the eastern portion of WCA-3B, north to Canal 11 in Broward County and south to approximately 8 miles beyond Tamiami Trail. The eastward limit of the study area is the western edge of the mining lakes in northwest Miami-Dade County. The northwest boundary of the study area is Levee 67C. The entire study area is about 22 miles north to south and about 7 miles east to west. ) 32 ) -IAMI#ANAL# &,!40 # + 53 , "ROWARD#OUNTY 7#! ! -IAMI $ADE#OUNTY 53 ) !TLANTIC/CEAN , ! , # , 7#! " 3&7-$#ANALS #ANALS , # -AJOR2OADS 534AMIAMI4R , %84 -INE,AKES $EVELOPMENT,AKES #OUNTY,INES 3F?SHORE , . 40+% 4OWNSHIP2ANGE 3TUDY!REA 84 0ENNSUCO7ETLANDS "ISCAYNE "AY -ILES Figure 1. Location of the Study Area 1 Introduction Extent of a Dense Limestone Layer in the Upper Portion of the Biscayne Aquifer STRATIGRAPHY OF THE STUDY AREA In the study area,