Case Studies - Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Project

ASR Component … Deep Wells Store Summer Runoff for Winter Augmentation of Surface Water Flow Historically, water levels in the Florida Everglades followed seasonal precipitation patterns. During the rainy season, water moved from central Florida through the Everglades and coastal estuaries along the southern coast. In the last century, a network of canals, levees, and dikes has drained large portions of the southern Everglades, while redistributing flow to the east and west. As a result, large tracts of habitat have been lost and almost seventy species of plants and animals have been listed as threatened or endangered. Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) has been proposed as a means of ensuring water for the Everglades. Under the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Project, over 300 wells will be used to store as much as 1.6 billion gallons of freshwater per day in a deep aquifer beneath southern Florida. The water will be pumped from the deep aquifer and used to increase water levels in the Everglades during the dry season.