|
Citation |
- Permanent Link:
- http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00001197/00001
Material Information
- Title:
- Water resource studies water resources of Palm Beach County, Florida ( FGS: Report of investigations 13 )
- Series Title:
- ( FGS: Report of investigations 13 )
- Creator:
- Schroeder, Melvin C ( Melvin Carrell ), 1917-
- Place of Publication:
- Tallahassee
- Publisher:
- Florida Geological Survey
- Publication Date:
- 1954
- Language:
- English
- Physical Description:
- 63 p. : illus., maps (1 fold.) ; 23 cm.
Subjects
- Subjects / Keywords:
- Groundwater -- Florida -- Palm Beach County ( lcsh )
Palm Beach County ( flgeo ) Lake Okeechobee ( flgeo ) Canals ( jstor ) Beach ( jstor ) Lakes ( jstor )
- Genre:
- bibliography ( marcgt )
Notes
- Bibliography:
- Bibliography: p. 63.
- Statement of Responsibility:
- by M.C. Schroeder, D.L. Milliken and S.K. Love.
Record Information
- Source Institution:
- University of Florida
- Holding Location:
- University of Florida
- Rights Management:
- The author dedicated the work to the public domain by waiving all of his or her rights to the work worldwide under copyright law and all related or neighboring legal rights he or she had in the work, to the extent allowable by law.
- Resource Identifier:
- 022257224 ( aleph )
01726064 ( oclc ) AER8195 ( notis ) a 55009230 ( lccn )
|
Downloads |
This item has the following downloads:
|
Full Text |
(1j
STATE OF FLORIDA STATE BOARD OF CONSERVATION Charlie Bevis, Supervisor
FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Herman Gunter, Director
REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS No. 13
WATER RESOURCE STUDIES
WATER RESOURCES OF
PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA
By
M. C. Schroeder,
D. L. Milliken and S. K. Love Water Resources Division U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY In cooperation with the THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN FLORIDA FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICT
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 1954
/T .
CULTURAL
FLORIDA STATE BOARD LBuRY OF
CONSERVATION
CHARLEY E. JOHNS
Acting Governor
R. A. GRAY NATHAN MAYO
Secretary of State Commissioner of Agriculture
J. EDWIN LARSON THOMAS D. BAILEY
Treasurer Superintendent Public Instruction
CLARENCE M. GAY RICHARD ERVIN
Comptroller Attorney General
CHARLIE BEVIS Supervisor of Conservation
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
ii
September 1, 1954
Mr. Charlie Bevis, Supervisor
Florida State Board of Conservation Tallahassee, Florida
Dear Mr. Bevis:
The officials of the Central and Southern Florida Flood Control District have long felt the need for a tabulation and compilation of water facts covering ground waters, surface waters and the quality of such waters, as found within the district. In an attempt to make this information on water resources readily available, the District entered into cooperation with the U. S. Geological Survey in 1953, to compile and summarize all of the water data in the district. This report, "Water Resources of Palm Beach County," is the first of what is hoped to be a series of such studies and compilations.
The facts on water are necessary to a wise development of any area and, in particular, to a wise and conservative development of water controls and supplies of water for farms, industries and municipalities. It is hoped that the integration of work programs of the Flood Control District, the Florida Geological Survey and the U. S. Geological Survey can be continued and more studies such as this will be published.
This report is being published as Report of Investigations No. 13, a Water Resource Studies of the Florida Geological Survey, in order that the data on water can be made available immediately to all of the citizens of Florida.
Very truly yours,
Herman Gunter, Director
Printed by ROSE PRINTING COMPANY. TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA
CONTENTS
Page
Letter of Transmittal ...................................... iii
Preface ......................................viii
A bstract ................................................. 1
Introduction .......................................... 3
Central and Southern Florida Flood Control Project .... 3 Purpose and scope of this report....................... 4
Description of the area................................ 5
G eology .......... ....................................... 7
G eneral features ............. ............................ 7
Geologic form ations ................................... 9
Hydrologic properties ................................11
Chemical quality of water.................................. 14
Ground water ...........................................16
W ater-table conditions ...............................16
Artesian conditions ..................................24
Surface w ater ........................................... 26
Stream flow records .......................................43
Sources of additional information..........................62
R eferences .......... ....................................63
ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure Page 1. Map of Florida showing location of Palm Beach County ......... 4
2. Map of Palm Beach County showing location of gaging stations, observation wells, and quality-of-water-sampling stations.........................Between pages 4 and 5
3. Map of Palm Beach County showing the physiographic areas.... 6
4. Generalized west-to-east cross section through central Palm Beach County showing the relationship of the nonartesian and artesian aquifers to the confining beds.............. 10
5. Generalized north-to-south cross section along U. S. Highway 27 in the Everglades area of Palm Beach County......... 15
6. Minimum, maximum and mean of the average monthly water levels in well 88 for 7 years of record ending in 1951 ..... 17
7. Map of Lake Worth area showing water-table contours for Novem ber 11, 1945....................................18
8. Hydrograph of water level in well 88 at Lake Worth for 1944-52 ............ ......................................20
9 Selected water-surface profiles on West Palm Beach Canal....... 37
10. Map of Lake Okeechobee area showing gaging station and
quality-of-water-sampling stations .......................... 39
11. Stage-duration curve for Lake Okeechobee for period October 1941 to September 1950 (3,287 days) ................... 51
12. Stage-duration curves for West Palm Beach Canal.............. 52
13. Stage-duration curve for Cross Canal at 20-Mile Bend
(above dam) for period August 1947 to September 1950
(1,157 days) ........... ................................... 53
14. Stage-duration curves for Hillsboro Canal.....................54
15. Stage-duration curve for North New River Canal at South Bay (north of dam) for period November 1939 to Septem ber 1951 (4,352 days)................................... 55
16. Stage-duration curve for Miami Canal at Lake Harbor (south of dam) for period May 1946 to June 1950 (1,522
days) ............. ....................................... 56
17. Flow-duration curve for West Palm Beach Canal at Canal Point (northwest of dam) for period December 1939 to
September 1950 (3,957 days)................................ 57
18. Flow-duration curve for West Palm Beach Canal at West Palm Beach (above dam) for period November 1939 to
September 1951 (4,352 days)................................ 58
19. Flow-duration curve for Hillsboro Canal at Belle Glade for period November 1942 to September 1950 (2,891 days) ......... 59
20. Flow-duration curve for Hillsboro Canal near Deerfield Beach (above dam) for period November 1939 to September 1951 (4,352 days)................................... 60
21. Flow-duration curve for North New River Canal at South Bay (south of dam) for period April 1942 to September
1950 (3,105 days)......................................... 61
TABLES
Table Page 1. Geologic formations in Palm Beach County .................... 8
2. Chemical analyses of ground waters in Palm Beach County, in parts per million.......................................25
3. Surface-water gaging stations in Palm Beach County through December 31, 1951................................ 28
4, Chemical analyses of surface waters in Palm Beach County, in parts per m illion........................................41
5. Tide-height records for Jupiter River at Jupiter............. .45
6. Monthly and annual flow of West Palm Beach Canal at Canal Point (northwest of dam), in thousands of acre-feet ..... 46
7. Monthly and annual flow of West Palm Beach Canal at West Palm Beach, in thousands of acre-feet................47
8. Monthly and annual flow of Hillsboro Canal at Belle Glade, in thousands of acre-feet ................................... 48
9. Monthly and annual flow of Hillsboro Canal near Deerfield Beach (above dam), in thousands of acre-feet................ 49
10. Monthly and annual flow of North New River Canal at
South Bay (south of dam), in thousands of acre-feet.......... 50
PREFACE
This report was prepared to provide a summary of ground- and surface-water resources information that will be helpful in the orderly planning for the utilization and control of water in Palm Beach County. The surface-water section of this report was prepared by D. L. Milliken under the supervision of A. O. Patterson, district engineer, Surface Water BrAnch; the ground-water discussion was prepared by M. C. Schroeder under the direction of Nevin D. Hoy, district geologist, Ground Water Branch; and the section on the chemical quality of water was prepared by S. K. Love, chief, Quality of Water Branch. The cost of preparation of the report was shared equally by the U. S. Geological Survey and the Central and Southern Florida Flood Control District.
Most of the data on which this report is based have been collected over a period of years by the U. S. Geological Survey in cooperation with:
Central and Southern Florida Flood Control District
City of Delray Beach
City of Lake Worth
City of West Palm Beach
Corps of Engineers, U. S. Army, Jacksonville District
Everglades Drainage District
Florida Geological Survey
Lake Worth Drainage District
Palm Beach County
Soil Conservation Service, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture
WATER RESOURCES OE PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA
By M. C. SCHROEDER, D. L. MILLIKEN, AND S. K. LOVE
ABSTRACT
Palm Beach County lies wholly within the Terraced Coastal Lowlands (Vernon, 1951, p. 16), and is divided into three physiographic subdivisions: The coastal ridge paralleling the Atlantic coast and extending about 5 miles inland; the Everglades; and the sandy flatlands which lie between the coastal ridge and the Everglades.
The principal source of ground water in Palm Beach County is the water-table aquifer, which ranges in thickness from 60 to 300 feet and is composed of the surface sands and the permeable limestone and shell beds underlying them. About 8,000 million gallons was withdrawn from this aquifer by wells in 1951. The capability of the water-table formations to transmit water to wells differs greatly from place to place in the county, but large quantities of shallow ground water are available in most parts of the county. The aquifer discharges large quantities of water into canals that annually discharge about five times as much water into the ocean as they receive from Lake Okeechobee. Principal recharge of the aquifer is by local rainfall which averages about 60 inches a year.
Control structures near the ocean ends of the canals that cut through the coastal ridge are effective in maintaining high groundwater levels in the ridge area. These high water levels, averaging about 7 feet above mean sea level, are a prime reason why salt-water encroachment in Palm Beach County has not been a serious problem. The relatively low permeability of the shallow subsurface materials makes it considerably easier to control water levels artificially in Palm Beach County than in coastal areas to the south.
Beds of relatively impermeable silts and marls lie underneath the water-table formations and separate them from the deeper formations which contain water under pressure and which, collectively, are named the Floridan aquifer. The Floridan aquifer is encountered at depths ranging from 600 to 900 feet below land surface, and wells that penetrate this aquifer will flow at the surface under pressures ranging from about 53 feet above mean sea level near Belle Glade to about 37 feet at West Palm Beach.
? FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Wells less than 50 feet deep, within 1 to 3 miles of the coast, usually yield relatively soft water-hardness is less than 100 parts per million (ppm) -whereas farther inland the water from shallow wells is considerably harder. Samples from wells near Lake Okeechobee showed hardness ranging from 557 to 5,670 ppm. Throughout the county there is a tendency for hardness to increase with depth in the water-table aquifer. The water from shallow wells in the western part of the county is of such poor quality that it is undesirable for practically all purposes except possibly irrigation. However, because no other source of water is available, shallow ground water is used extensively for domestic purposes. Water from deep wells tapping the artesian (Floridan) aquifer contains 3,000 to 4,000 ppm of dissolved minerals and averages 2,000 ppm or more of chloride. This water is undesirable for most uses.
The major surface waterways in Palm Beach County are the artificial drainage channels: West Palm Beach, Hillsboro, Miami, and North New River canals. Lake Okeechobee, having an area of 700 square miles, lies entirely within the county and is fed by streams draining areas that lie principally to the north of the lake. Discharge from the lake is controlled by a system of gates on all outlet channels.
The principal use of surface water in the county is for the irrigation of truck crops and sugar cane. Lake Okeechobee and two smaller lakes, Clear Lake and Lake Mangonia, in the eastern part of the county serve as sources of public water supply for towns adjacent to the lake and for Palm Beach and West Palm Beach. Estimates of the total volume of surface water being used in the county are not available.
For the 11-year period 1940-50, inclusive, the mean annual flow of the West Palm Beach Canal was 787,000 acre-feet. Of this volume of flow, 110,000 acre-feet was derived from Lake Okeechobee and the remainder from surface runoff and ground-water inflow. The maximum monthly flow at West Palm Beach during the 1940-50 period was 239,000 acre-feet and the minimum monthly flow was 11,600 acre-feet. The mean annual flow of the Hillsboro Canal near Deerfield Beach during the same period was 336,000 acre-feet with a maximum monthly flow of 137,000 acre-feet and a minimum monthly flow of 300 acre-feet.
Although flow in the major drainage canals is generally from Lake Okeechobee toward the coast, at times the flow in the lake ends of the canals is toward the lake owing to various combinations of concentrated rainfall and drainage pumping from farmlands into the canals.
REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS NO. 13 3
Flow in Hillsboro Canal at Belle Glade and West Palm Beach Canal at Canal Point was toward the lake during 17 percent of the period 1939-50. Flow in North New River Canal at South Bay was toward the lake only 2 percent of the period 1942-50.
Flooding of the lowlands adjacent to the canals is rather frequent. Records of stage collected since about 1940 show that water levels in the canals in the vicinity of Lake Okeechobee were above land levels only a few days at Belle Glade but as much as 11 percent of the time at Canal Point. Canal water levels were above land levels in the Everglades for 25 percent of the time in the developed areas and 65 percent of the time in the undeveloped areas. In the sandy flatlands and coastal ridge areas canal water levels are frequently near but never above land levels.
Water in Lake Okeechobee is essentially uniform in chemical composition, moderately lhiard (hardness 135 ppm) and satisfactory without expensive treatment for practically all uses. Chemical quality of water in the lake ends of the canals is generally similar to that in Lake Okeechobee whenever water is being discharged from the lake. Owing to inflow and seepage, the hardness, the total content of dissolved minerals, and the color of water in the canals increases rapidly with distance from the lake. Water quality in the canals is highly variable and, except near Lake Okeechobee, is generally unsatisfactory for most uses except irrigation. During an 18-month period, hardness of water in Hillsboro Canal at Shawano ranged from 164 to 418 ppm, total dissolved minerals from 286 to 863 ppm, and color from 35 to 560.
INTRODUCTION
CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN FLORIDA FLOOD CONTROL PROJECT
On January 3, 1950, construction was begun on works of the Central and Southern Florida Flood Control Project. This extensive plan for the control of water in the lower part of peninsular Florida has as its aims: (1) the rapid removal of flood waters; (2) the storage of portions of the surplus waters; (3) the prevention of over-drainage;
(4) the prevention of salt-water encroachment; and (5) the protection of developed areas.
A great change in the pattern of flow of the surface waters of Palm Beach County will have taken place by the time the Project is com-
4 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
pleted. Changes in the pattern of flow have already occurred as a result of the works completed thus far, and will continue as more and more of the works are completed and put into operation. The data presented herein were collected before project works had made significant changes in the surface water pattern and are, therefore, generally comparable. Data collected after the end of 1951, however, may not be comparable to that collected before.
PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THIS REPORT
The purpose of this report is to summarize ground-water and surface-water data collected in Palm Beach County (fig. 1) by the U. S. Geological Survey. The report is intended to be an aid in the development of farm, public, and industrial water supplies. It contains information that will be of value in appraising flood-control problems in the county and includes information pertinent to the
tOt
,,"' I NASSA
** *** _t* OP
I~rnaM TO Man ofIlrd0hwn naino am h CoutA
- !,4 --- .
Not
Ak ALAC.4.JA TNA
1"''"
' lt ialiOc
. . . .. ... .. . .IA C
_ ., S .
-' ---F -----L
L ,.t
*" L.
S I i .
IoMUR3 1. Map of Florida showing location of Palm IBeach County.
REPORT or INVESTIGATIONS No. 13 5
comprehensive water controls now practiced or contemplated in the area. Surface and subsurface geologic features are discussed briefly in order to provide a basic understanding of the occurrence of both ground water and surface water in the county. Inasmuch as the intelligent utilization of water resources requires that the chemical quality of the water be adequate for its intended use, information is given concerning the chemical constituents found in the waters of Palm Beach County.
The scope of this report does not permit inclusion of all the basic water data that are available. An index showing the principal observational stations at which water resources data have been collected is given in figure 2. These data are on file at the Miami and Ocala offices of the U, S. Geological Survey. Summaries of the more important segments of the data are presented and conclusions and interpretations are made wherever they are adequately supported by existing information, In order to maintain the relative brevity of the report many of the data supporting the various interpretations have been omitted.
DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA
Palm Beach County is bordered on the north by Okeechobee and Martin counties, on the west by Glades and Hendry counties, on the south by Broward County, and on the east by the Atlantic Ocean. Lake Okeechobee, having an area of about 700 square miles, is entirely within Palm 3Beach County. The land area of the county is approximately rectangular in outline and has a total area of 1,978 square miles. The area may be differentiated into three physiographic subdivisions (fig. 3): The coastal ridge, the sandy flatlands, and the Everglades. The coastal ridge parallels the sea coast and extends inland about 5 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. The sandy flatlands area lies between the coastal ridge on the east and the Everglades on the west. The Everglades, a part of which comprises the western part of the county, is a southward extension of the Lake Okeechobee basin. The land surface of Palm Beach County slopes gently to the south and ranges in elevation from about 25 feet above sea level on the coastal Bridge ,nearthe' northern boundary to about 11 feet above sea level in the southern part of the Everglades.
In 1950 the population of Palm Beach County was 114,688 persons. The bulk of the populatioi s.sconceoatrted in the cities and towns on the ooaktalridge add:in it alone the o~n heIrZha, The
6 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
remainder of the population is centered in small agricultural communities along the shore of Lake Okeechobee or scattered sparsely throughout the county on farms and ranches. West Palm Beach, the county seat, is the largest city in the county, with a 1.950 population of 43,162.
Farming and cattle raising are major occupations, especially in the sandy flatlands and the Everglades. The subtropical climate, with rainfall averaging 55 to 63 inches that falls principally in the months from June to October, favors the growth of winter vegetables.
N V3,00 : V P7.1
cc 40 z
m
ow 40
Wi
0
0 18 Wt S--- 0i
0
D 0D
IfI
XH
I..0
/'W
REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS No. 13 7
GEOLOGY
GENERAL FEATURES
The formations exposed at the surface in Palm Beach County are composed of sand, limestone, coquina, and the oolitic limestone deposited during the "ice age," which began approximately 1 to 2 million years ago. The western part of the county, which comprises a part of the Everglades, is covered 'by organic soils which started accumulating about 5,000 years ago and range in thickness from 3 to 10 feet. Sand mantles almost the entire area east of the Everglades. Hard limestone a foot or two thick occurs in some places immediately beneath the surface sand in the sandy flatlands area. A soft oolitic limestone exposed near Boca Raton grades northward into a coquina composed of a cemented mass of broken shells. The coquina is exposed along the Atlantic shore line near Palm Beach and north of Boca Raton.
The geologic formations underlying the area may be described as two aquifers separated by confining beds (fig. 4). The Pamlico sand, Anastasia and Fort Thompson formations, and the Caloosahatchee marl, composed of permeable sand, limestone, and shell beds, comprise the water-table or nonartesian aquifer. The base of the nonartesian aquifer ranges from 10 to about 300 feet below land surface.
At depths varying from 550 to 650 feet below land surface the other aquifer is encountered, which contains water under artesian conditions and has sufficient pressure to flow to the surface. This principal artesian aquifer underlies all of Florida and part of southeast Georgia and is named the Floridan aquifer, and in Palm Beach County is composed of limestone of the Hawthorn (lower part), Tampa, Suwannee, Ocala, and Avon Park formations ranging in age from 30 to 60 million years.
The artesian aquifer is overlain by relatively impermeable confining beds which tend to prevent the upward movement of the artesian water. These beds are composed of green silts and clayey marls of the Tamiami and Hawthorn (upper part) formations. In some of the other counties of Florida, the whole of the Hawthorn is composed of impermeable beds.
The definitions of the formations are those used by Cooke (1945), Vernon (1951), and Puri (1953). A generalized section of the formations in 'the order that they would be penetrated by a well 1,300 feet in depth is given in table 1. Also indicated is the approximate
Table 1.-GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS IN PALM BEACH COUNTY
APPROXIMATE O(CCrRREN.CE
IN FEET BELOW L.~ND StW'RFACE
FozAriozx GEOLOGiC AGE Cu AA.TER
Everglades Area Coastal Ares
ramie oils .................... Recent................. o 8 I Absent
Pamlico sand..................... Late Pleistocene ......... Absent 0 10 Sand. Yields water to sand-point wells.
Anastasia formation.............. Pleistocene. ............. Absent 10 230 Sand. limestone, and shell beds. Fair to good aquifer.
C
Fort Thompson formation......... Pleistocene.......... .. 8 30 Absent Marine and fresh-water sands, marls, limestone. and shell beds.
Fair aquifer.
Cloo batbee marl ............. Pliocene............... 30 110 230? 330 Shelly sands and shell marl. Fair aquifer.
Tamismi formation............... Late Miocene ............ 110 180 330 400 Maly sand, marl and shell beds. Low permeability: confining
beds.
awthorn formation .............. Miocene................ 180 680 400 890 Clayey and sandy marl. Low permeability; confining beds. Limestone beds in lower part yield some artesian water.
Tampa formation ................. Early Miocene .......... 680 800 890 940 Limestone and some marl. Yields some artesian water.
Su mannee limestone................ Oligocene............... 800 890 940 1,000 Limestone. Yields artesian water.
bla~roup...................... Late Eocene............ .890 970 1,000 ? do.
AvonPark limestone.............. Late middle Eocene ..... 970 1,300+- Unknown do.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONs No. 13 9
depth below land surface at which each formation occurs in the Everglades and coastal areas. All the formations older than the Pleistocene underlie the entire county. One or two of the three Pleistocene formations will be penetrated by a well, depending upon its location.
GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS'
The geologic formations in Palm Beach County are discussed in the following paragraphs in order of occurrence from the land surface downward. Additional information on each formation is given in table 1.1
The gray or white surface sand (Pamlico sand) mantles all of Palm Beach County east of the Everglades, except in the Loxahatchee marsh area where organic soils cover the surface.
The surface sand ranges from 1 or 2 feet in thickness on the sandy flatlands between the Everglades and the coastal ridge to about 10 feet along the coastal ridge and the barrier beaches that are separated from the mainland by the Intracoastal Waterway. In the dune areas this sand attains a maximum thickness of about 50 feet.
The Anastasia formation immediately underlies the surface sand. It is composed of sand, sandstone, limestone, coquina, and shell beds and underlies all of eastern Palm Beach County, extending westward to the edge of the Everglades. The Anastasia formation is about 40 to 50 feet thick near the Everglades but beneath the coastal ridge it is possibly as much as 200 feet thick.
The marine sands, shell beds, limestones or sandstone, and freshwater marls or limestones that underlie the soils of the Everglades comprise the Fort Thompson formation and are equivalent in age to the Anastasia formation. The thickness and character of these beds, because they vary from place to place, can be determined only by test drilling. The formation is between 20 and 50 feet thick and is overlain by thin beds of fresh-water marl which in turn are overlain by the organic soils of the Everglades.
The Caloosahatchee marl underlies the Fort Thompson and Anastasia formations and is composed mainly of shelly sand and sandy shell marl with minor amounts of limestone and sandstone. In the Everglades area the formation apparently decreases in thickness from 1. The stratigraphic nomenclature of this report conforms to the nomenclature of the Plorida Geological Survey. It also conforms to that of the U. S. Geological Survey except that Tampa formation is used instead of Tampa limestone and instead of Ocala limestone the Ocala group is applied to all sediments in Palm Beach County of Jackson age and subdivisions
of this unit were not made,
10 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
NVJ00 OINV7.V x bb
HOV39 "1Vd 1S3M
ii'
z 1 o
4 WW 0
z I
-- toO V
1r a a1
40o <
I
. I w
z 4
0 0 Q ).-IWI
1 0 g I
o a oW 4 0 0 0 0 0 O 4 q.
I- I I w I
W J 10ZV 3 U
I I II II S 0 0 0
about 70 feet near Belle Glade to about 7 feet near the Broward County
line. Along the coast the thickness of the formation is not known.
The Tamiami formation is composed principally of silty, shelly
sands and silty shll mars of low rmbility with signal thin
4 U_ W a
about~~~~~~~1 00 1eet nea Be| Wd oaot eterteowaCut
line.~~~ zln the 1os th-h4ns tefomto sntkon
4 ,
"['he~U Tamam jomto _j 0opsdpicp]yo itse]
sands~~~~~~ ~ ~~~~~ Zn (it h] a~ f]wpreaitywhocsonlhn
REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS No. 13 11
interbedded limestone or sandstone. The formation underlies the Ca- V' loosahtchee marl and is believed to occur beneath all of Palm Beach County. The Tamiami formation ranges between 70 and 100 feet in thickness, and occurs at greater depths in the eastern part.
Relatively impermeable clayey and sandy marls compose most of the Hawthorn formation which underlies all the county. The formation is encountered at 175 feet below the land surface near Belle Glade and at 400 feet near West Palm Beach where it is about 500 feet thick. The upper part of the Hawthorn formation separates the overlying formations from the Floridan (artesian) aquifer.
The Tampa formation' is about 130 feet thick and is composed mainly of light-colored sandy limestone with different amounts of marl. It underlies the Hawthorn formation throughout Palm Beach County. The lower part of the Hawthorn formation and the Tampa formation in this area are the uppermost components of the Floridan aquifer. The Tampa formation is underlain at successively greater depths by the Suwannee limestone, Ocala group,"' and Avon Park limestone. These formations are composed of dense but cavernous and permeable limestones which act as a hydrologic unit constituting the artesian aquifer.
HYDROLOGIC PROPERTIES
The physical characteristics of the confining beds and of the Floridan aquifer in Palm Beach County appear to be relatively uniform whereas those of the water-table aquifer differ from place to place. In most instances the only data available to determine the hydrologic properties of the geologic materials were obtained by an examination of well cuttings. In a few cases data concerning yield and drawdown or pumping test in the water-table aquifer are available. The hydrologic properties of the water-table aquifer described in this report will be considered by areas: The coastal ridge, the sandy flatlands, and the Everglades.
The saod and shell materials comprising the water-table aquifer in the coastal ridge area of eastern Palm Beach County generally are about 300 feet deep. Thid beds of limestone or sandstone usually occur locally, but in the vicinity of Boca Raton and Delray Beach a bed of permeable sandstone about 100 feet inr' thickness underlies about 80 feet of sand. Confining beds, approximately 600 feet in thickness composed of sandy and clayey marl, underlie the water-table formations
1. See footnote on page 9.
12 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
and prohibit a vertical movement of water. In some places the upper 100 feet of this confining unit contains some permeable sand and shell beds. Underlying the confining beds is a thick series of permeable limestones containing water under pressure.
Yields and drawdowns have been recorded for various wells in the water-table aquifer along the coastal ridge. At Boca Raton 10-inch diameter open-hole wells ranging in depth from 175 to 215 feet will yield 500 gallons per minute (gpm) with drawdowns of 2 to 15 feet. A 10-inch gravel-packed well at Lake Worth, with a screen set between 54 and 136 feet, reportedly had a drawdown of 6 feet when pumped at 700 gpm. These yields and drawdowns indicate that the formations at Boca Raton and Lake Worth are similar in their ability to yield water to wells.
Comparison of data from test wells in Lake Worth indicates a wide range of permeability for the shallow subsurface materials within a distance of a mile or less. One well drilled to a depth of 193 feet in the Lake Worth well field did not penetrate materials that would yield water without the use of a screen. In contrast, two test wells Y4-mile and 1 mile, respectively, north of the well field, which were equipped with 5 feet of slotted casing at the bottom similar to the test well drilled to 193 feet, were pumped with the casing set at different depths between 40 and 95 feet. The pumping rates ranged from 25 to 120 gpm. Lesser drawdowns with larger yields were obtained between depths of 40 and 55 feet than at any other depths.
Well data at Morrison Field, west of West Palm Beach, suggest a slightly lower permeability than at the areas cited above. A 30-inch gravel-packed well, screened from 125 to 145 feet, yielded 750 gpm with a drawdown of 78 feet in the pumped well and caused a lowering of 14 feet in the water table 50 feet away.
The data on well capabilities and variation of materials in the water-table aquifer suggest that the hydrologic properties of the subsurface material differ along the coastal ridge. The only quantitative study made by pumping-test method was at Delray Beach where a 6-inch well was pumped at 300 gpm and the rate of water level decline was observed in adjacent wells. Results obtained from this test indicate a coefficient of transmissibility for the shallow water-bearing formations of 70,000 gallons per day per foot. This means that in 1 day 70,000 gallons of water will flow through a vetrical section of the aquifer 1 mile wide under a hydraulic gradient of 1 foot per mile.'
REPoiRT. or INVEsrTIGATIONs No. 13 13
The following table shows the declines in water level to be expected at selected distances from a pumped well after varying time intervals and for different rates of pumping. The computations are made with the assumption that pumping in each case is continuous at a constant rate and that no rainfall recharges the aquifer.
DItAWDOWN, IN FET
Pumping
rate 1 day 1 week 1 month
(gpin)
r- =250 r = 500 r500 r = 1,000 r= 500 r 1,000
500 0.4 0.0 0.7 0.1 1.7 0.7
1,000 .8 .1- 1.4 .2 3.4 1.5 2,000 1.5 .1 2.7 .4 6.7 2.9
NoTEr- r = distance, in feet, from the disohtarging well.
The hydrologic properties as determined for the aquifer at Delray Beach would be comparable to those of the sand and shell materials elsewhere in the county along the coastal-ridge area. Probably 200 to 300 gallons of water per day will flow through each mile of width of the aquifer for each foot of thickness, under a gradient of 1 foot per mile, at the prevailing temperature. (This numerical measure of the flow is called the coefficient of permeability and is equal to the transmissibility divided by the thickness of the aquifer.) This permeability is significantly lower than the 50,000 to 70,000 computed by Parker (1951, p. 824) for the highly permeable limestones of Dade County. These lower ranges of permeability make controls placed in the canals that discharge into the Intracoastal Waterway effective in maintaining high heads of water behind the dams.
" The thin blanket .of gray or white surface sand in the sandy flatlands area is underlain by about 3 feet of rust colored sand or hard sandstone, or both. Beneath these materials, sands grade downward into shelly sands that in places contain irregular beds of shell and sandstone of higher permeabilities and will supply fair yields of water to wells. These materials probably extend to 200 feet in depth, where the sandy marls of the confining beds occur. The nature of the materials and water-table-fluctuation data indicate that the permeabilities are much lower than they are in most of Broward and Dade
14 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
counties, making water control in the sandy flatlands more readily accomplished.
The Everglades area in western Palm Beach County is covered by organic soil which is. underlain by about 60 feet of marl, limestone, shell marl, sand, and sandstone comprising the water-table aquifer. The aquifer is thicker in the eastern part of the Everglades than it is near the western edge. From Lake Okeechobee southward across the Everglades, however, the thickness of the water-table aquifer in Palm Beach County is relatively uniform (fig. 5). The water-table aquifer in the Everglades, as a unit, has a lower permeability than it has in the coastal-ridge area. An 8-inch diameter well near Okeelanta (fig. 2) screened in shell marl between 22 and 28 feet below the surface and having an open hole from 29 to 36 feet in soft limestone yielded 410 gpm with a drawdown of 18 feet.
The 1- to 2-foot bed of impermeable marl that generally lies immediately below the organic soil is a prime factor in making effective water control possible. Drainage and irrigation ditches that do not cut through the marl are more effective in controlling the water levels than those ditches that penetrate the more permeable underlying materials. However, water control in the Everglades area in either instance is more feasible than in most areas of Broward and Dade counties.
CHEMICAL QUALITY OF WATER
Water is commonly thought of as being fresh or salty. Rain, lakes, rivers, and underground waters that are suitable for drinking and other domestic uses and also for industrial and agricultural purposes are usually called fresh water. Salt waters include the ocean water and bodies of surface and ground waters that contain so much dissolved saline minerals that they are not satisfactory for human consumption or for almost any other use.
The amounts of the several mineral substances dissolved in water are expressed as the number of parts of that substance contained in a million parts of water (in ppm) and may be thought of as the number of pounds of constituents in a million pounds of water.
To the average user of water the most important characteristics are its hardness, taste, and color. Hardness is caused mainly by compounds of calcium and magnesium dissolved from soil and rock materials with which the water has been in contact. To the household user
1
*
Q.
Co Q Q 0=8
018
RECENT ORGANIC SOILS (UNDERLAIN IN PLACES BY A THIN BED OF MARL)
LIMESTONE BEDS (FORT THOMPSON FORMATION) 0 ~~~~ i. -------- .
ILI
SHELL MARL, SAND, AND LENSES OF SANDSTONE (FORT rHOMPsoN roqAT N)
0
Cf
SHELLY SANDS AND SHELL MARLS (C44OO$,4c,4rCH'," MR'404
APPROXIMATE BASE OF WATER-TABLE (UNCONFINED) AQUIFER
SILTY SANDS AND SANDY MARLS ( TAM/AMI FORMArT/ON)
__26 miles Note: Maximum depth to top of Tamiami formation, 65 feet
PGURE 5. Generalized north-to-south cross section along U. S. Highway 27 in the Everglades area
ef Palm Beach County.
16 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
of water the evidence of hardness is the quantity of soap or other detergent required to produce suds or lather. Water with hardness of less than 60 ppm is usually considered to be soft and treatment to remove hardness is seldom justified. Hardness of 60 to 120 ppm does not seriously interfere with the use of water for household or many industrial uses, but softening is frequently considered profitable. When the hardness is in excess of 120 ppm treatment for its reduction is usually desirable for most uses.
The presence of certain mineral constituents in water, within reasonable limits, adds to the potability of a supply because they are responsible for its pleasant taste. If there were no minerals dissolved in water, it would have the flat taste of rain water. On the other hand, the concentration can be high enough to make the water unpalatable. Iron in excess of about one-half part per million imparts a taste that is objectionable to most people. Iron is also undesirable because of its tendency to produce rust stains.
Some waters are colored owing to the presence of organic matter leached from plants, tree roots, and organic components of soil. Color is a common characteristic of both surface and ground waters in Palm Beach County. Color in excess of 10 is considered objectionable in public-supply waters from an esthetic point of view but otherwise has little deleterious effect unless caused by the presence of some harmful constituent. The platinum-cobalt method is considered as the standard for the determination of color in water, and the unit of color is that produced by 1 milligram of platinum in a liter of water.
Data relating to quality of water in Palm Beach County are discussed in the sections on Ground Water and Surface Water.
GROUND WATER
WATER-TABLE CONDITIONS
The water table in general roughly parallels the land-surface features. In Palm Beach County, differences in ground elevations are so slight that the water table is a relatively uniform surface with few undulations. From a map by Parker (1944, p. 13) showing surface drainage it may be inferred that before man's operations in the Everglades the water table probably sloped from Lake Okeechobee eastward toward the coastal ridge and southward through the Everglades. A ground-water divide existed in higher areas along the coastal ridge with the water table sloping to the Atlantic Ocean and toward the
REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS No. 13 17
Everglades, The overflow from Lake Okeechobee drained southward across the Everglades more or less as sheet flow.
Present drainage operations and the regulation of the water stages of Lake Okeechobee, generally between 12.6 and 15.6 feet above mean sea level, have produced a complex water-table pattern in the county. The resistance of peat to lateral ground-water seepage (Clayton, Neller, and Allison, 1942, p. 17) and the relatively impervious character of the marl, which overlies the shallow permeable waterbearing rocks, make water control economically feasible in the Everglades area of Palm Beach County.
The average water level over a 7-year period (1945-51) for well 88 on the coastal ridge at Lake Worth was 7.9 feet above mean sea level (fig. 6) and the average water level in the area of well 99, at
JAN. FEB. MAR. APR MAY JUN. JUL. AUG. SEP OCT. NOV. DEC.
14
/
/ \
t I \ I
_ / /
4
/, /-,
levels in well 88 for I years of record ending in 1951.
18 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
West Palm Beach, was probably about the same. These water levels reflect the effect of the control operated from 1945 through 1951 on the West Palm Beach Canal at West Palm Beach. The high groundwater levels maintained in this area would have been appreciably lower if the control had not been in operation. This effect is further illustrated by a water-table map of the Lake Worth area for November 11, 1945, (fig. 7) which shows relatively high ground-water levels close to the shoreline near the canal instead of swinging inland to parallel roughly the canal.
The average water level for 1951, a slightly subnormal water year, in observation wells along the Range Line Canal (see fig. 2) at points
WEST PALl 'EACH CANAL T
I II S1 a
0
I \O It8
00
- I /
I II 4)
/ I l l
I.M -Mr- MOW
I / I ll
0)s0
r / / I I ,
.-_ _,
E X P L AN'4ATION
~AT[*-TABLE CONTOUR
R ID1ANEO TO VIL.
SCALE IN MILES I rA11
0 I _
REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS No. 13 19
west of Lake Worth and west of Delray Beach, was 2.6 feet below land surface datum (15.4 above msl). Ground-water levels west of the Range Line Canal have sloped toward the Everglades during part of each year of record. Records of water-level fluctuations to date, however, are not of sufficient length to support the conclusion that this occurs every year. Some support for the conclusion, however, is found in the fact that West Palm Beach, Hillsboro, North New River, and Miami canals during certain times will flow from water summits toward both Lake Okeechobee and the Atlantic Ocean. This is illustrated by water-level profiles in the West Palm Beach Canal on selected dates (fig. 9).
Ground-water levels in shallow wells in Palm Beach County fluctuate in response to rainfall and pumpage from wells. Water-level fluctuations between high and low levels in selected wells in the county during 1951 ranged from 3.0 to 4.5 feet. The greatest fluctuation occurred on the coastal ridge in West Palm Beach and the minimum changes were recorded on the sandy flatlands north of the West Palm Beach Canal about 18 miles west of Lake Park.
For 1951, a relatively dry year but one for which a greater distribution of water-level data is available, the range of the difference between the highest and lowest monthly average water levels was 3.0 feet along the coastal ridge at West Palm Beach; 2.5 feet in the sandy flatlands north of the West Palm Beach Canal; and at the western edge of the Lake Worth Drainage District along the Range Line Canal the range was only 0.9 foot. These records clearly show the damping effect of water control on ground-water levels. Figure 6 shows graphically the minimum, maximum, and the mean of the average monthly water levels at Lake Worth during the period 1945-1951.
Figure 8 shows daily ground-water levels in a well at Lake Worth which has the longest continuous water-level record in the county. The graph shows the changes in water levels produced by drought and flood conditions. The difference between the maximum and minimum ground-water levels in this well since 1944 is 11.1 feet, with the highest level, 15.5 feet above msl, occurring in October 1948 and the lowest, 4.4 feet above msl, in June 1945 and August 1952. The highest stages in the main canals in the Everglades and across the sandy flatlands during the same period of record occurred in October 1947.
Recharge to the ground water in this area is derived from local rain-
20 FIORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY fall and by subsurface percolation from the canals into the permeable materials. Rainfall is the principal source of recharge. Inspection of rainfall records for periods ranging from 5 to 39 years indicates that the average annual rainfall is about 55 inches in the vicinity of Belle Glade, about 50 inches in the Everglades 10 to 20 miles to the south, and about 63 inches along the coastal ridge and in the eastern part of
* )3 dnrJ f O O.1 OJ&MJJk # 11.M 'NOIJVAJIU
//-__ _I -I
--7e
- -4-- I_00 iiin-
I .. .).
r-4
pL4
7 4(
- C
U 9 "! I ; 9 9 D, " 9 "
0A07 i6 I N 0] ON li t 1 M l 0 13
REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS No. 13 21
the sandy flatlands. Rainfall along the coastal ridge and sandy flatlands percolates fairly rapidly into the aquifer. The quick response of the water table to local rainfall is shown by the rapid water-level rises on the hydrograph in figure 8. In some areas the water table rises to the land surface, and surface flow occurs.
Some recharge directly from Lake Okeechobee may occur in that part of Palm Beach County bordering the lake. However, judging from the low permeability of the shallow water-bearing formations, from the slight difference in head between the lake surface and the water table, and from a study, by Ferguson (1943, pp. 21-22) and by others, of the surface water flowing into and out of the lake, the recharge is relatively small. Also, the presence of ground water with a relatively high chloride content adjacent to the lake which has a low chloride content suggests that there is not a free exchange of water below the lake and the shallow ground water. On the basis of the available data, Parker and others (1953) also concluded that groundwater seepage from Lake Okeechobee to the Everglades is very small.
Discharge from the shallow ground-water reservoir is by evaporation from the land or water surfaces and by transpiration by plants in those areas where the water table is at or near the surface, by seepage into canals, pumping from shallow wells, and by outflow into the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway.
Evapotranspiration from Lake Okeechobee and from its swampy shores is estimated by Ferguson (1943, p. 22) to be about 46 inches annually. Experiments at Belle Glade, as reported by Clayton, Neller, and Allison (1942, pp. 27-35) showed that the annual losses through transpiration and evaporation from saw grass in peat, sugarcane in peat, and bare peat soil were about 68, 49, and 40 inches, respectively. Parker and others (1953) computed a difference of 42.8 inches between the average runoff, measured as streamflow, and the rainfall for the Kissimmee-Lake Okeechobee-Everglades area, neglecting ground-water outflow from the area not reaching the stream channels. Thus, the evapotranspiration loss may be three-fourths, or more, of the average annual rainfall. The Hillsboro, North New River, and West Palm Beach canals annually discharge roughly about five times as much water into the ocean., as is received into the canals from Lake Okeechobee (for discharges see section on Surface Water). During periods when the Everglades are flooded, a part of this pickup is from overland flow. However, the major part of the pickup over the entire year is from ground-water storage either being pumped or flowing by gravity into the canals.
22 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
The use of shallow well supplies is steadily increasing. It is estimated that the total withdrawal of ground water by wells in Palm Beach County during 1951 was about 8,000 millions of gallons, an average of a little more than 20 mgd.
Ground water is utilized for public, domestic, industrial, fire fighting, and irrigation supplies. All of the municipal supplies along the coastal ridge, except at West Palm Beach, are obtained from wells. Several light industries use ground-water supplies in their operations.
It is difficult to determine with accuracy the quantity of ground water used in Palm Beach County. In rural and agricultural areas practically no records are available, and the pumpage for the majority of the industrial plants is estimated. The following is a rough estimate, in millions of gallons, of ground water that was used in Palm Beach County in 1951:
Municipal Industrial Rural and irrigation
3,000 2,000 3,000
It is not feasible to estimate the additional amount of water, pumped from canals for irrigation, that is derived by seepage from ground-water storage.
Shallow ground water in the Lake Okeechobee area of the Everglades, according to Parker (1945, p. 531), is contaminated by sea water that gained access to the water-bearing beds when the sea covered this area during the Pleistocene epoch or "ice age." Salt water has not been completely flushed from the less permeable materials and the enclosed permeable lenslike deposits. The shelly sands, shell marls, and sandstones underlying the Everglades yield water that generally is highly mineralized. The more permeable beds of the water-table aquifer along the coast have long since been flushed of salt.
In the Everglades area water obtained from limestone beds immediately underlying the organic soil and marl generally contains less than 100 ppm of chloride. However, in the sandy and shelly material beneath the limestone beds, chloride in the ground water is generally greater than 200 ppm (chloride much above 250 ppm is objectionable in public or domestic supplies). A test well near Pahokee yielded water containing 1,885 ppm of chloride at a depth of 45 feet. Stringfield (1933, p. 28), concerning mineralization of ground waters in the Everglades area bordering Lake Okeechobee, states: "It appears that although large quantities of ground water are avail-
REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS No. 13 23
able, the poor quality of the water offers little encouragement for the development of water supplies from either deep or shallow wells * *." The chloride concentration of the ground water in the water-table aquifer decreases with distance from the Everglades toward the coastal'ridge, where the normal concentration is approximately 30 ppm.
Salt-water .,encroachment along the coastal area of Palm Beach County is not yet a critical problem. All of the municipal supplies along the coastal ridge, except that from West Palm Beach, are obtained from wells located approximately 1 mile from the ocean or inland waterway. From the data available there is no indication of salt-water encroachment at a depth of 200 feet that far inland. One of the prime factors in the prevention of serious salt-water encroachment in this area is that only two canals cut across the coastal ridge and both have controls that maintain high heads; this results in higher ground-water levels closer to the shoreline than would otherwise exist. The average ground-water level along most of the coastal ridge, 1 mile inland, is probably about 7 feet above mean sea level.
Most of the wells in Palm Beach County are developed either on and along the coastal ridge in the eastern part of the county or near Lake Okeechobee in the western part. For this reason the chemical quality of ground water will be discussed in two parts corresponding to the two major groupings of wells.
Chemical analyses are available on samples collected from about 80 wells in a strip approximately 10 miles wide adjacent to the coast and about 35 miles long, extending from the Broward County line to the Martin County line. The wells range in depth from a few feet to more than 100 feet. Wells less ,than 50 feet deep, within 1 to 3 miles of the coast, usually yield relatively soft water-hardness less than 100 ppm-whereas shallow wells farther inland are likely to yield somewhat harder water. Water from wells more than 50 feet deep, both near the coast and farther inland, is usually harder than water from shallower wells.
Chemical analyses are available for samples from 22 shallow wells in Palm Beach County in the vicinity of Lake Okeechobee. Almost all these wells are located in areas where the topsoil consists of several feet of muck and it is possible that some of the shallowest wells terminate in the muck. Most of them, however, terminate in the marl or limestone beneath the muck. Only three of the wells sampled are more than 50 feet deep.
24 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Concentrations of dissolved solids in the 22 samples from the western part of the county were among the highest found in shallow ground water in southeastern Florida (table 2). Dissolved solids ranged from 557 to 5,670 ppm, and in 10 of the 22 samples dissolved solids exceeded 1,000 ppm. The maximum concentration of 5,670 ppm was found in a sample from a well 66 feet deep at Lake Harbor just south of Lake Okeechobee.
Bicarbonate is the most characteristic anion in the water from practically all wells in the Lake Okeechobee area. In some samples sulfate and chloride were present in significant quantities, often several hundred parts per million.
Ground water containing large amounts of dissolved solids, such as those sampled in western Palm Beach County, are undesirable for practically all purposes except possibly for irrigation. Even irrigation waters in which the ratio of sodium to all basic constituents is more than 60 to 70 percent may retard the growth of some crops under certain conditions, especially during dry periods. Those waters in which sodium is the predominent basic constituent cannot be economically improved by treatment processes in general use.
Analyses of typical ground waters in eastern and western Palm Beach County are given in table 2.
ARTESIAN CONDITIONS
The piezometric or pressure surface at flowing wells in Palm Beach County slopes southeasterly from about 53 feet above mean sea level at Belle Glade to about 37 feet at West Palm Beach.
The lack of heavy withdrawals from the Floridan aquifer in this county allows the artesian pressure to remain fairly constant; however, the water levels are affected by temporary barometric-pressure changes.
So far as is known, discharge from the Floridan aquifer within Palm Beach County is mainly through wells which probably discharge less than 1 mgd. In addition, there probably is some leakage upward through the confining beds, but the amount is not known.
The normally saline water from the Floridan aquifer in Palm Beach County is utilized by a few industries only for cooling purposes. The temperature of the water is about 73oF, which is from 4 to 6 degrees cooler than the shallow ground water. The savings in pumping costs and the temperature differential apparently compensate for the
Table 2.-CHEMICAL ANALYSES OF GROUND WATER IN PALM BEACH COUNTY, IN PARTS PER MILLION.
NONARTESIAN
Tem- Speci cle Cal- Magne- Soli=m Bioar- Sul- Chlo- Ni- DisWell' LOCATION Date of Depth pera- Color Conductaice Iron ciam sium and Po- bonate fate ride trate solved Hardness Collection (feet). ture (Micromhos (Fe) (Ca) (Mg) tassium (HCO0) (SO4) (CI) (NOs) Solids as CaCO (OF.) at 25*C.) (Na & K)
20) Lake Worth Public Supply......... Mar. 15, 1"41 135 ........ 40 437 0.15 74 3.1 20 220 20 25 4.0 287 197
0
262 Germantown Road at South Bend... April 17, 1941 20 74 220 322 .10 42 5.2 13 48 55 37 7.0 184 126
271 Military Trail and Atlantic Avenue.. Apr. 18, 1941 111 ..... 40 576 .10 108 6.3 18 335 2.1 40 2.0 342 295
287 0.3 mile West of Military Trail and
0.2 mile North of Lateral No. 23.. May 16, 1941 30 75 40 246 .12 12 8.5 18 4.0 69 21 .0 131 65 202 Belle Glade, State Prison Farm..... Sept. 22, 19,41 35 76 360 2,540 .05 114 83 371 776 295 340 13 1,600 626
412 Pahokee, State Highway 15, 1.6 miles
South of Pahokee Water-Tower.. Sept. 10, 1941 18 ...... 520 5,430 .05 237 128 862 849 661 1,140 ...... 3,450 1,118
419 State Highway 80, 0.4 mile East of
North New River Canal.......... Sept. 22, 1.41 60 ........ 60 1,380 .10 80 76 143 751 57 104 .1 830 512
137 State Highway 25, 3.5 miles South of
Bolles Canal, along North New
River Canal ................... June 5, 1942.. 16.5 75 360 1,130 .15 172 55 7.6 576 144 35 .2 698 655
ARTESIAN
203 Belle Glade, University of Florida
Everglades Experiment Station.... Sept. 12, 1941 1,132 78 10 616 0.03 166 131 864 22 5.8 1,990 ...... 3,170 953
407 West Palm Beach, North Railroad
Avenue and 4th Street........... Sept. 9, 1941 1,035 73 5 726 .10 127 161 1,207 194 449 2,110 ...... 4,150 979
26 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
greater cost of a deep well and for the corrosive nature of the water. The quantity of artesian water used in the county is negligible as compared to the amount of shallow ground water used.
Wells drilled into the artesian aquifer in Palm Beach County are usually about 1,000 feet deep. Properly developed wells 12 inches in diameter will yield a flow of 800 to 1,000 gallons per minute at the land surface.
The first published discussion of artesian ground water in Palm Beach County is included in a report by Sellards and Gunter (1913). Analyses were given for only three wells along the coast. One is an artesian well in Palm Beach which contained 3,000 ppm of dissolved solids. This is typical of artesian waters in the area as shown by analyses made in the 1940's.
Collins and Howard (1928) list an analysis for an artesian well 1,080 feet deep in West Palm Beach; the water had a chloride concentration of 2,345 ppm. This is typical of water from such depth in this area. Stringfield (1933, pp. 22-25) observed that the water from a well near Belle Glade was less mineralized between depths of 900 and 1,332 feet than it was between depths of 300 and 900 feet; water from the greater depths contained about 1,650 parts per million of chloride, whereas the water from the shallower depths in this well contained about 2,200 ppm. Artesian wells in the West Palm Beach area tap the same part of the Floridan aquifer as does the well near Belle Glade down to 900 feet; the quality of the water is similar (table 2).
SURFACE WATER
Surface-water information of two types is collected at particular points in a stream, lake, or other body of water. The first type pertains to the height or elevation of the water surface; the second, on streams only, to the discharge or amount of water flowing and the direction of flow. The points at which one or the other or both types of information are collected are called gaging stations.
A record of the elevation of the water surface at a gaging station
is obtained either by reading a gage at intervals of time or by the use of a water-level recorder. Gages that need to be read are generally enameled steel scales set vertically in the water. The zeros of gages are maintained at a known elevation, and are usually with reference to sea level. Water-level recorders actuated by float and clock mecha-
REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS No. 13 27
nisms require setting to a reference gage but keep a continuous record on graph paper of the height of the water surface.
The height of the water surface at the gage, measured in feet and hundredths of.feet above an arbitrary datum, may be converted to elevation above or below mean sea level. Mean sea level may be thought of as the average elevation of the water surface of the ocean at points along the shore.
Flow is determined by measuring the speed of the current, and the width and depth of the stream. The rate of flow of a stream 1 foot wide and 1 foot deep with a current moving 1 foot each second would be 1 cubic foot per second. Cubic feet per second may be changed to million gallons per day by multiplying by 0.646, or to gallons per minute by multiplying by 449. The term cubic feet per second refers to the rate at which the water flows. The total amount of water which has flowed past a gaging station in a definite period of time may be recorded in acre-feet. One cubic foot per second flowing 1 day gives close to 2 acre-feet. An acre-foot of water would be the amount of water in a pond one foot deep with an area of exactly 1 acre. One acre-foot contains 43,560 cubic feet or 325,851 gallons.
A list of gaging stations in Palm Beach County for which records are available is given in table 3. Records for gages not shown as being published in Geological Survey Water-Supply Papers are on file in the Ocala District, Surface Water Branch (see p. 53). Table 3 also gives pertinent data regarding the periods for which records are available, the maximum and minimum rates of flow, and the water elevations observed during the period of record. Localities at which these records were collected are shown on the map in figure 2. A summary of the more important records of streamflow in Palm Beach County is given in graphical and tabular form later in this report in the section on streamflow records.
Data from the graphs shown in figures 11-21 have been used in the description of the flow in the canals given below. Although the graphs are based on percent of days when daily stage or discharge equaled or exceeded various amounts, this is so nearly equivalent to percent of time that the latter term has been used in the following text.
The major surface waterways in Palm Beach County are the three artificial drainage channels: West Palm Beach, Hillsboro, and North New River canals. The Miami Canal cannot be considered
Table -SURFACEI-WATER GAGING STATIONS IN PALM BEACH COUNTY THROUGH DE CZBan 31, 1951
Highest of Record' Lowest of Record'
No. Type ean Streams, Canals, etc. Location Period of Record2 of Flow WaterElevation Flow WaterElevation Remarks Map' ReOrd (cubic feet (feet above (cubic feet (feet above per second) sea level) per second) sea level)
1 Jupiter River ........ At Jupiter............... May, 1944, to Feb, 1946,
April, May, 1946,
Aug., 194, to Sept., 1947, 2.37 -1.02 June to Aug., 1948....... Ed .............. (Oct. 18, 1944) ..............(Mar. 8, 1945) Affected by tide.
2 L bat.h Slough.. 5.2 miles west of Jupiter.... Aug., 1946, to Jan., 1952*. Fo 1,060 >
(Oct.9, 1947) .............. None at times ..............
3 Lake Okeechobee.... Gages at Moore Haven, Clewistoo, Lake Harbor,
Chosen, Canal Point, 20.1 10.3 Okeechobee, Port Mayaca.. Oct., 1931, to ......... Ed .............. (Sept. 4, 1933) .............. (May 17, 1932)
4 West Palm Beach Northwest of dam at Canal Fd and 817 (to southCanal ............ Point ................. Nov., 1939, to* ........ Ed east, March C
18, 1948) and
1760 (to northwest, June 15, 18.54 10.00 Water elevation 8.76 feet 1942) ....... (Oct. 23, 1947) .............. (June 17, 1948) June 22-25, 30, 1928.
5 do............... Southeast of dam at Canal 18.70 9.4
Point................. May, 1940, to- ..... Ed .............. (Oct. 12, 1947) ............. (May 24, 1944)
8 do............... At Big Mound Canal...... March, 1944, to ... Eo .................................................... One of "West Palm Beach
Canal Profe" gages.
7 do............... At 20-Mile Bend .......... Mar., 1944, to July, 1947.. Eo
July, 1947, to Oct., 1950.. Ed 17.48 8.33 Oct., 1950, to- -..... Eo ............. (Oct.16,17,1948) ............. (June 30, 1944) do.
Table 3.-SUnFACE-WATER GAGING STATIONS IN PALM BRACH COUNTY THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 1951-Continued
Highest of Record4 Lowest of Record4'
No. Type on Streams, Canals, etc. Location Period of Record2 of Flow WaterElevation Flow WaterElevation Remarks Map -Record3 (cubic feet (feet above (cubiefest (feet above per second) sea level) per second) sea level)
8 do ............... 14 miles west of
Loahbatchee ............ Mar., 1944, to ..... Eo .............. .............. .............. .............. "Profile" gage.
9 do.............AtLoxahatchee........... July, 1941, to Aug., 1942.. Eo 17.13 6.66 Flow 2,120 cfs measured
Aug., 1942, to .... Ed .............. (Oct. 12, 1947) .............. (Jan. 9, 1943) Oct. 12, 1947.
10 do......... 1.7 miles east ofLoxahatchee Mar.,1944,to .... Eo .............. .............. ............................ "Profile" gage.
11 do .............. At Range Line Canal...... March, 1944, to ... Eo ............................ ............................ do. c
12 do. ............ 1.3 miles east of Range
Line Canal. ............. do .................. Eo .............. ......................................... do.
0
13 do .............. At Military Trail ......... Nov., 1939, to June, 1941.. Ed 14.24 6.04 c
March, 1944, to ... Eo ............. (Oct. 12, 1947) .............. (July 6, 1949) do.
14 do............... At Stub Canal.......... do....o ................... Eo .............. .............. ............................ do.
15 West Palm Beach Above dam at West Palm Fd and 5,320 10.89 124 2.97 Highest elevation known Canal............ Beach ................. Nov., 1939, to* ........ Ed (April 18, 1942) (Oct. 13, 1947) (May 1, 1945) (May 7,1941) 13.20 ft. Oct. 23, 24, 1924,
(Flow, 8,570 cfs.).
Elevation 1.00 ft. Aug. 28,
1929.
16 Cros Canal........ At 20-Mile Bend......... Mar., 1944, to June, 1947.. Eo
June, 1947, to Oct., 1950.. Ed 17.3 10.05 Oct., 1950, to ..... :Eo ............. (Oct. 13,1947) ............. (Sept. 27,1950)
17 Range Line Canal... Above dam at Hillsboro 15.80 8.37 Canal.................. an1951,to- ... Ed .............. (Oct. 10,1951) .............. (Aug. 6, 1981)
Table 3.5SURFAC-WATER GAGING STATIONS IN PALM BEACH COUNTY THROUGH DZCraMBR 31, M1951-Comtnued
Highest of Record Lowest of Record' 4
No. Type on Streaims, Canals, etc. Location Period of Record2 of Flow WaterElevation Flow WaterElevation Remarks Mapi Record3 (cubic feet (feet above (cubic feet (feet above i- per second) sea level) per second) sea level)
18 do............... Above dam at West Palm 16,41 12.73
Beach Canal ............ Jan., 1951, to -- .... Ed .............. (Oct. 14, 1961) .............. (Oct. 24, 1951)
19 Equiing Canal 4. 3.6 miles southwest of ,12.68 Delray Beach .......... Feb., 1951, to- ..... Ed .............. (Oct. 14, 1951) ............. Less than 5.4
20 do............... At State Highway 802 11.03 7.57 Elevation 14.14 ft. April 19,
Bridge ................ May, 1944, to Jan., 1946.. Ed .............. (Sept.5, 1;45) ............. (June 30, 1944) 1942;
6.42 ft. July 5, 1932
21 do.............. 1.3 miles northwest of 10.87
Lake Worth............ Jan., 1951, to ... Ed .............. (Oct. 15, 1951) ............. Les than 5.87
22 Boynton Canal ... Above dam at Boynton Ed and Beach ................. July, 1941, to June, 1943*. Fd
1947* ................... Fo
Nov., 1949, to ........ Fo and 2.720 4.0
Ed (April 18, 1942) .............. (Nov. 30, 1942) ..............
23 Hillsboro Canal..... At Hurricane Gate at Fo and 1,770 (to southLake Okeechobee........ Jan. to Sept., 1940* ....... Ed east, March
13, 1940);
800 (to northwest, Sept. 6,
1940)....... .............. ............. ..............
24 do.............. At Belle Glade ........... Jan. to May, 1940 ....... Fo 481 (to southMay, 1940, to Sept., 1942* Fo and east, Feb. 14, Ed 1940);
Oct, 1942, to Sept., 1950* Fd and 289 (to northEd west, Sept.9, 16.94 10.50 Elevation 17.66 ft.
S1940)....... (Feb. 14, 1940) ............. (Aug. 26, 1949) Sept.26 to Oct. 1, 1926
Table 3.-SURFACE-WATER GAGING STATIONS IN PALM BEACH COUNTY THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 1951-Continued
Highest of Record4 Lowest of Record'
No. Type on Streams, Canals, etc. Location Period of Record2 of Flow WaterElevation Flow WaterElevation Remarks Mapi Record3 (cubic feet (feet above (cubic feet (feet above per second) sea level) per second) sea level)
25 do ............. 0.1 mile northwest of Fo and 15-.38 10.61 Elevation 16.7 ft.
Cross Canal ........... Oct.,1950,to* ......... Ed ............. (Oct. 3, 1951) .............. (Dec. 14, 1951) Oct. 18, 1947.
26 Hillsboro Canal,,... At Shawano............. Jan., 1929, to ..... Ed .............. 15.37 8.73 Flow 505 cfs measured
(Oct.12,13,1947) .............. (May 4, 1945) Oct. 29, 1947.
27 do ............... At Indian Run ............ June, i947, to April, 1950. 15.54 6.6 Flow 927 fs measured
June, 1950, to ..... Ed .............. (Oct. 12, 1947) .............. (Aug. 22, 1950) Aug. 20, 1947
28 do................ At. U.S. Highway 441 Nov., 1939, to June, 1941. 14.87 4.00 Flow 1,860 cfs measured
Bridge ................ Sept., 1947, to ..... Ed .............. (Oct. 7, 1947) ............. (Aug.18,25,1949) Oct. 14, 1947C
29 do .............. Above dam 1.8 miles west None (Dec. 16,
of Deerfield Beach Fd and 3,490 12.10 1939;Apr. 11, (Broward County) ....... Nov., 1939, to *........ Ed (Oct. 12, 1947) (Oct. 17, 1944) 1940; June18, 3.34 Elevation 0.96 ft.
1940) ....... (Aug. 18, 1949) May 19 to June 12, 1927
30 do .............. Below dam 1.8 miles west
of Deerfield Beach (Broward County)....... July, 1947, to ..... Ed ............. .......................................... Affected by tide.
81 Indian Run......... Above dam at Hillsboro June, 1947, to April, 1950. 15.95
Canal ................. June, 1950, to .... Ed .............. (Oct. 12, 1947) .............. Less than 9
32 North New River
Canal............ North of dam at South Bay July, 1943, to ..... Ed ........................................................
33 do .............. South of dam at South Bay Nov., 1939, to *........ Fd and 1,040 (to south,
Ed Sept.30,1947)
445 (to north, 16.39 8.63 Elevation 20.56 ft. June 10, 17,
S1942) ....... (Oct.15,16,1947) .............. (July 6, 1949) July 27, 28, 1926.
Table 3.--SURFACE-WATER GAGING STATIONS IN PALM BEACH COUNTY THROUGH DECZXMBR 31, 1951-Containued
Highest or Record4 Lowest of Record4
No. Type on Streams, Canals., etc. Location Period of Record2 of Flow WaterElevation Flow WaterElevation Remarks Map1 Record (cubic feet (feet above (cubic feet (feet above per second) sea level) per second) sea level)
34 do.............. At Broward-Palm Beach 14.09 6.28 Flow I 210 efs measured
County Line............ Aug., 1946, to ... Eo .............. (Oct. 13, 1947) .............. (June 7, 1948) Oct. 1, 2, 1948
35 Boies Cmanal........ At U.S. Highway 27 Bridge 1939-40, Oct., 1940, to 300 None
Feb., 1944* ............ Fo (July 28, 1941) ..............(April 8, 1941)............
36 Miami Canal........ North of dam at Fo and 572 (to south, Lake Harbor........... Oct., 1939, to June, 1941*. Ed Jan. 6, 1942)
July, 1941, to June, 1943. Fd and 808 (to north, Ed July 22,1941) .............. ............................
37 do............. South of dam at Lake 16.88 12.05 Elevation 18.56 ft.
Harbor................. April, 1946, to June, 1950.. Ed .............. (Oct. 13, 1947) .............. (April 3, 1948) Sept. 18, 1926;
10.05 ft. May 18, 1932
88 Levee 8 Canal ..... 5 miles upstream from West Palm Beach Canal.. Nov., 1951, to ..... Ed .......................................... .............
89 Levee 40 Borrow 1 mile south of West
Ditch............ Palm Beach Canal....... Nov., 1951, to ..... Ed .......................................................
40 Everglades......... 17 miles west of Boynton
Beach.................. Oct., 1951to ...... Ed .............. .............. .............. ..............
41 do .............. 15 miles west of Delray
Beach.................. Oct., 1951, to- ..... Ed .. ....................................................
42 do .............. 0.5 mile northeast of Hillsboro Canal,
8 miles northwest of Elbow
Bend ................. May, 1951, to- ..... Ed .............. .............. ............................
Table 3.-SURFACE-WATER GAGING STATIONS IN PALM BEACH COUNTY THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 1951-Continued
Highest of Record4 Lowest of Record4
No. Type on Streams, Canals, etc. Location Period of Record2 of Flow WaterElevation Flow WaterElevation Remarks Map1 Record (cubic feet (feet above (cubic feet (feet above per second) sea level) per second) sea level)
43 do............... 0 5 mile northeast of Hlllsboro Canal,
4 miles northwest of Elbow
Bend................. M ay, 1951, to........... Ed .............. ..........................................
44 do............... 0.5 mile southwest of Hillsboro Canal,
8 miles northwest of Elbow Bend ................. June, 1951, to - Ed .............. .............. .............. ..............
45 do............. 0.5 mile southwest of Hills
boro Canal,
3 miles northwest of Elbow
Bend ................. June, 1951, to ..... Ed .............. .............. .............. ..............
46 do........ .....0.5 mile south of Hillsboro Canal,
3 miles east of Elbow Bend M ay, 1951, to ..... Ed ........................................................
47 do............... 0.5 mile northeast of North
New River Canal at
Broward-Palm Beach
S County Line ........... June, 1951, to- ..... Ed I........................................................
1 See numbered points on map (Fig. 2) for location.
SWhen no second date is shown, station was continued in operation after December 31, 1951.
SMeaning of symbols:
Fd-Record of flow each day; Fo-Occasional measurement of flow; Ed-Record of water elevation each day; Eo-Occasional measurement of water elevation.
4 Dates shown in parentheses.
* Published in Surface Water Supply of the United States, Part 2 South Atlantic Slope, Eastern Gulf of Mexico Basin, U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper, issued annually.
34 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
one of the major waterways in this county because it was dug to full depth for only a short distance south of Lake Okeechobee. These drainage canals follow roughly parallel southeasterly courses from Lake Okeechobee to the Atlantic Ocean.
Natural streams are few and of relatively little importance in the county. The largest is the Loxahatchee River.
The West Palm Beach Canal runs from Canal Point on the lake to just south of West Palm Beach. It is from 80 to 150 feet wide and the elevation of the bottom is from about 5 feet above sea level at Canal Point to about 5 feet below sea level just upstream from the lock and dam at Poinsettia Avenue (Dixie Highway), West Palm.Beach. The flow and elevation of the water surface in the canal are regulated by a hurricane gate at the lake, a lock and dam at Canal Point, and the lock and dam near West Palm Beach.
The elevation of the land at Canal Point is about 15 feet above sea level. During the more than 10 years of record presented in this report, the water has been above the present ground surface elevation about 11 percent of the time (figure 12). The most serious flooding occurred in October 1947, when the highest water elevation reached was nearly 4 feet above ground surface.
Proceeding down the West Palm Beach Canal, the land elevation gradually gets lower until, at 20-Mile Bend, it is about 13.5 feet above sea level. During the period July 1947 to October 1950, the water was above the land about 26 percent of the time, occasionaly to a depth of more than 3.5 feet. It should be realized that the 26 percent may be a higher than average percentage of time of flooding, inasmuch as the 2 flood years of 1947 and 1948 .are included in the 3-year period of record.
From 20-Mile Bend to Loxahatchee, the land surface rises to about 18.5 feet. At Loxahatchee, the water elevation in the canal has not been higher than a foot below ground surface since 1942, when the collection of records was started.
At the lock and dam near West Palm Beach, the land is about 18 feet above sea level and according to the records the canal at this location has never overflowed its banks. Since November 1939, when the Geological Survey record began, the highest water elevation was 7 feet below the ground level. Records of the Everglades Drainage District show the water reached within 5 feet of ground level in 1924.
REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS No. 13 35
The Hillsboro and North New River canals leave Lake Okeechobee in a single channel through a hurricane gate at Chosen, near Belle Glade. They divide into separate channels about 0.2 mile east of the hurricane gate.
Hillsboro Canal empties into the sea near Deerfield Beach in Broward County. Its channel averages about 70 feet in width. The elevation of the canal bottom is about 4 feet above sea level at Belle Glade and about 7 feet below sea level just downstream from the lock and dam near Deerfield Beach. Between Shawano and Elbow Bend part of the channel was never dug to the depth originally planned. Regulation of flow and water elevation is provided by the hurricane gate at Lake Okeechobee, Structure S-39 (spillway) 14 miles upstream from the coast, and the lock and dam near Deerfield Beach.
At Belle Glade, where the land is about 16.5 feet above sea level, the Hillsboro Canal has not overflowed its banks during the 11 years of record since 1940, except for a few days in 1940 and 1947 at which time there was less than a foot of water above ground.
At the next gaging station downstream, Shawano, the land is about 13 feet above sea level. At this point, the land has been flooded about 25 percent of the time in the 10 years since January 1942. Depth of water on the land surface has been more than 3 feet at times. The 1947 flood was the highest flood during that period-the water was more than 19 feet above sea level.
The record at Hillsboro Canal at Range Line Road covers only a 4-year period. During that time, however, no overflow has occurred, even during the flood of 1947. The ground elevation is about 15.5 feet above sea level.
At the lock and dam on Hillsboro Canal near Deerfield Beach, the land is about 13.5 feet above sea level. The water elevation in the canal has not been above land surface since collection of records was started in 1939, although it was only 1.5 feet below ground surface in October 1944.
After dividing from the Hillsboro Canal, the North New River Canal runs south about 10 miles, then southeastward, entering Broward County at a point about 30 miles west of Deerfield Beach. From that point, it flows south and east through Broward County to the coast at Fort Lauderdale. Its channel is about 70 to 100 feet wide and the elevation of the bottom varies from about 4 feet above sea
36 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
level at South Bay to about sea level at the county line. Water elevation and flow are regulated by the hurricane gate, a lock and dam at South Bay, a dam at 26-Mile Bend in Broward County, about 8 miles southeast of the county line, Structure S-34 (culvert) at 20Mile Bend, and a 'lock and dam near Fort Lauderdale.
At South Bay, where the land surface is about 14.5 feet above sea level, the water surface in the North New River Canal was above ground level about 7 percent of the time between 1939 and 1951. The maximum depth of water on the land surface during that period was about 2 feet. The flood of July 1926, before construction of protective levees around the south shore of Lake Okeechobee, was considerably higher than any flood recorded in the period 1939-51. During the 1926 flood the water level was about 20.6 feet above sea level. This water elevation does not represent 6 feet of water above ground in 1926, as might be supposed, inasmuch as the land surface at this place was 2 or 3 feet higher than it is now. Settling and oxidation of the muck soil are responsible for the lowering of this land surface that has occurred since 1926.
The land elevation at 26-Mile Bend on the North New River Canal in Broward County is about 9 feet above sea level. As is to be expected in the undeveloped Everglades, the land here has been flooded about two-thirds of the time since 1941. For about 28 percent of the time the water was from 1 foot to more than 3 feet deep over the land.
The Miami Canal would be equal to the other canals in importance if the channel were continuous. However, the canal was dug to full depth for only about 9 miles south from Lake Harbor. From that point it was dug only through the muck soil to the top of the underlying rock. Over the course of the years since this excavating was done, the banks in this section of the canal have slid and washed into the channel and vegetation has grown thickly so that the shallow part of the canal is now almost completely choked. Thus, in effect, water flows from the deep part of the channel directly into the open Everglades.
Although flow in the canals is generally from Lake Okeechobee toward the coast, the flow at times is reversed at the upper ends of each canal and movement of water is toward Lake Okeechobee, owing to various combinations of concentrated rainfall and pumping from cultivated lands into the channels. The flow was towards the lake in Hillsboro Canal at Belle Glade 17 percent of the time (194250), in North New River Canal at South Bay 2 percent of the time
WATER ELEVATIONIN FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL
o CANALPOINT
(BELOW DAM)
H
09
'11
L i
o
CD
C+
( - - BIG MOUND CANAL
t- o
I -LOXHATHE
- p 0 0 I z No 0(0( 0
o0
0
00
(D
--__ ___ 20-MILE BEND
--- L
m
m 1 .5 MILES W.OF
-rs /LOXAHATCHEE o - --- LOXAHATCHEE N) 1.7 MILES E. OF m /LOXAHATCHEE
0 -0 RANGE LINE CANAL
- STUB CANAL
______1,5 MILES E. OF
WEST PALM BEACH (ABOVE DAM)
L ['ON SKOUN.VISMAKI J1 ,L d0-a3N
38 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
(1942-50), and in West Palm Beach Canal at Canal Point 17 percent of the time (1939-50). Many laterals and pumps pour water into the canals for drainage at times of excessive rainfall and at other times take it out for irrigation, making the pattern of flow in the canals quite complicated. Figure 9, which shows the water-level profile in West Palm Beach Canal on selected dates, illustrates the variable flow conditions that sometimes occur. The profile for October 24, 1950, shows that water was then flowing toward Lake Okeechobee in the lake end of the canal and toward the ocean in the other end.
There are times when there is no discernible flow and no net flow during whole days in either direction in varying reaches of these canals.
Lake Okeechobee is the second largest fresh-water lake wholly within the boundaries of the United States, being exceeded in size only by Lake Michigan. Its area is about 700 square miles. It is relatively shallow, the bottom at the deepest part being about at sea level. Elevation of the lake surface is controlled by gates at the outlet channels, and the lake level is generally held between about 12.6 and 15.6 feet above sea level. The lake is fed principally by the Kissimmee River which enters from Okeechobee County. Smaller tributaries include Fisheating Creek, Harney Pond Canal, Indian Prairie Canal, Taylor Creek, and lesser streams from small drainage basins adjacent to the lake. The principal outlets, in addition to the canals mentioned above, are the Caloosahatchee River, in Glades County, and the St. Lucie Canal, in Martin County.
The principal use of surface water in Palm Beach County is for the irrigation of truck crops and sugar cane. Clear and Mangonia lakes are the major sources of water supply for the City of West Palm Beach. Water for the cities of Canal Point, Clewiston, Belle Glade, Okeechobee, Pahokee, and South Bay is taken from Lake Okeechobee.
Lake Okeechobee is fairly uniform in chemical composition throughout its area and from one season to another (see fig. 10). The average hardness is about 135 ppm. An unusual fact about the lake water is that the hardness is about 5 times greater than the hardness of the Kissimmee River and other tributary streams that contribute the greater part of the water to the lake. Although there are several possible explanations, it appears that the increased hardness of the lake water is caused by the inter-action of the inflowing soft water with the limestone bottom of the lake.
REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS No. 13 39
The major drainage canals in Palm Beach County are subject to large changes in chemical quality. As they leave Lake Okeechobee they have water of about the same quality as the lake so long as water is released from the lake. Within a few miles, however, the quality is affected adversely by inflowing surface and ground water from the Everglades. The amount of dissolved minerals increases rapidly from about 185 ppm in Lake Okeechobee to over 600 ppm
)1OKEECHOBEE]
0e
-00,
*0
C) 00,
-- O'
0 PORT o MAYACA
* CANALL
O POINT
o O
0,
* ANEXPLANATIONAL
* SeURVEY OF JULY 30-31, 1940
o SURVEY OF MARCH 11-12, 1941
POINT SAMPLING POINTS COMMON TO BOTH SURVEYS HARBOR
O
SMOORAKE GAGE
C SA L IN MLEk
04000CLEWISTON
EXPLANATION CHOSEN
0 SURVEY OF JULY 30-31, 1940
O SURVEY OF MARCH 11-12, 1941 LAKE<
6 SAMPLING POINTS COMMON TO BOTH SURVEYS HARBORoo
MM LAKE GAGEk
SCALE IN MILES
FIGURE 10. Map of Lake Okeechobee area showing gaging station and quality-of-water sampling stations.
40 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
in some locations in the canals. Hardness and color also increase rapidly with distance from the lake.
Water in the West Palm Beach, Hillsboro, and North New River canals, except close to Lake Okeechobee as noted above, is moderately to excessively hard and is highly colored during most seasons of the year. The color is generally higher during the rainy season when most of the runoff is derived from water that flows over or through the muck soils. The Hillsboro Canal is typical. During an 18-month period of intensive study at Shawano (fig. 2) it was observed that the hardness ranged from 164 to 418 ppm. During the same period the total content of dissolved minerals ranged from 286 to 863 ppm and color from 35 to 560. Color in excess of 10 is considered undesirable for public water supplies.
For many years the public water supply for Belle Glade was obtained from the Hillsboro Canal. The chemical quality was so highly variable that the treatment plant was unable to cope with the sudden and large changes in concentration of dissolved minerals and in the color of the water. The situation was so unsatisfactory that the canal was abandoned in favor of Lake Okeechobee as a, source of supply.
The quality of water in the drainage canals in Palm Beach County apparently has no adverse effect on the use of the water for irrigation, although there are practical limits above which the concentration of dissolved minerals interferes with plant growth. The canal waters would have to be treated for most industrial uses. However, the treatment would be variable and expensive, and probably not economically feasible so long as water of better quality can be obtained at moderate cost.
The only other surface waters of any consequence in the county are the small lakes between the Everglades and the coastal ridge. Clear Lake and Lake Mangonia are used as the source of the public supply of Palm Beach and West Palm Beach. These waters are very soft-hardness averages about 20 to 25 ppm. The water is treated to overcome its tendency to corrode plumbing. Lake Osborne varies in chemical quality with the seasons of the year. Based on a limited study of the lake, the hardness ranges from about 125 to 240 pprm.
In summary, the chemical quality of the Everglades canals is highly variable. The water is satisfactory for irrigation but unsatisfactory for industrial or municipal use without costly treatment. Lake Okeechobee provides a source of hard but otherwise good quality water suitable for most beneficial uses. Two of the small coastal lakes are sources of very soft water and are used for public
Table 4.-CHEMICAL ANALYSES OF SURFACE WATER IN PALM BEACH COUNTY, IN PARTS PER MILLION
Date of Collection 0
Lake Okeechobee
5- - -Ju 30, 1940 ............ ........ 40 ........ 376 ........ ........ 41 11 22 138 27 38 .... 0.4 207 148
M arch 11, 1941.. .. ........ 50 ........ 337 ........ ........ 38 11 17 121 29 33 ........ .4 188 140
December 5, 1950 ........ 6 104 7.3 313 7.1 0.01 34 7.3 16 1.7 117 21 25 0.1 1.4 202 115
April 6, 191............. 73 40 8.1 400 7.8 .02 36 8.6 22 1.6 117 32 34 .2 1.2 266 125
West Palm Beach Canal at West Palm Beach
April2,1941........ .... ........ 140 ........ 891 ................ 67 25 90 259 69 127 ........ 4.0 510 270
October 23, 1941 ......... ........ 160 ........ 241 ........ ........ 27 5.8 14 102 7.0 22 ........ .2 76 91
Jae 4, 1942 ............. ........ 140 ........ 10 ................ 19 3.6 15 61 14 22 ........ .2 104 62
November 11, 1942 ....... ........ 150 ........ 1,010 ........ ........ 67 25 103 252 67 153 ........ 1.6 541 270
October 7, 1943 .......... ........ 160 ........ 294 ........ ........ 34 6.6 12 98 10 33 ........ .3 144 112
December 31, 1943 ....... ........ 95 ........ 1,070 ........ ........ 62 22 132 252 58 188 ........ .8 587 245
M ay 31, 1944 ............ ........ 30 ........ 510 ........ ...:.... 53 12 35 178 28 58 ........ .4 274. 182
July 1, 1944 ............. ........ 70 ........ 1,050 ........ 60 20 133 272 49 175 ........ .2 571 232
West Palm Beach Canal at Loxahatchee
Juy 5-9,1951................... 260 7.7 1,110 24 0.00 82 22 124 4.0 328 66 162 0.3 4.8 753 295
October 15-20,1951.............. 110 7.0 267 5.2 .22 32 2.2 18 .9 96 8 29 .2 1.3 178 89
3 12
July, 144..................7........1,50...............0 2 133272 49 75 57 23
4
Table 4.--CEM'ICAL ANALYSES OF SURFACE WATER IN PALM BEACH COUNTY, IN PARTS PER MILLION-Continuead
'ate of (olectio;A .3 ~
- .- =-,_ -
-C .- --- .- -- -_*- J :- ..:... 1. - - -1. -. --Hillsboro Canal at Deerfield Beach
May 21, 1941............ .200 840........ 58 18 96 256 21 139 05 45 211
i, . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1.. .. . .'.
August 22, 1941 .......... ........ 240 .. 344 ....... ........ 32 9.2 26 131 6. 6 42 ... . 11 1I.i
January 22, 1942 ...... ........... 100 178 .. ...... ..... 22 1.6 14 69 6.4 20 ........1 9 62
August 7, 1942................. O 40 ...... 994 7............... 2 23 98 314 21 1480% 2 .517 274
June 2, 1943 ................... 120 ........ 1,470 . 106 27 182 384 52 285 ........ .0 11 376
November 30, 1943....... ........ 19O 113 . 25I 7. 4 12 72 56 6 38 .2 124 93
January 31, 1944............... 120 ....... 794 .............. 70 15 74 242 23 123 ..... 8 425 236
92... 388 3 2 16!1. 0 3 May 31, 1944............ ........ .0 1,310 92 26 147 388 34 216 ....... .2 70 336
I I I
Hillsboro Canal at Shawano n
II I I
June 1-10, 1951.......... ........ 45 7.6 458 11 0.05 46 12 30 1.7 162 36 44 0.3 1.3 286 154
August 21-31, 1951............... 280 7.8 1,170 28 .00 105 38 113 4.5 502 52 136 1.0 3.2 863 413
Miami Canal at Lake Harbor
December 18, 1939............................... 425 ................ 45 13 22 152 32 39 226 16
July28, 1940............ ........ 190 ........ 666 ........ ........ ... ... .. 231 108 50 ...... ........ 2 3
March l0, 1941.......... ........ 200 ............ ... ........ ..... ............. 43 11 8.3 152 23 26 ........ 0.4 270 168
O .tobe2,1941.............. 20......35..............4!) ; .... .........3 10 50........ ........27
October 26, 1941......... ........ 280 ........ 194 ........ ........ 28 5.2 2.9 04 5.8 10 ........ .6 91) 91
M ay 29, 1945 ............ ........ 180 ........ 1,470 ................ 168 39 99 5i8 69 178 ........ 8.3 841 580
September 23, 1945 ....... ........ 190 ........ 41................ 65 11 12 186 57 14 ........ .4 251 207
REPORT OF INVES'rIGA'rlIONS NO. 13 43
supply purposes. The water in a third lake is moderately hard but otherwise of good quality.
Results of chemical analyses of surface waters in Palm Beach County are given in table 4. Locations of sampling points at which samples were collected during a study of water in Lake Okeechobee are given in figure 10.
STREAMFLOW RECORDS
Summaries of several of the more important gaging-station records in Palm Beach County are given in tables 5-10 which follow. Table 5 shows a summary of tide heights for Jupiter River near Jupiter as an example of the effect of Atlantic Ocean tides on water levels in the ocean ends of waterways draining into the sea. Tables 6-10 show the volumes of water passing selected gaging stations each month and year during the period of record for each station through 1950. A casual examination of these tables reveals the large variations in flow during the months of a single year as well as those during the same month in the several years. Data of this type are indispensable in determining the adequacy of available water supplies for irrigation and other needs. Although tables, of monthly flow like those reproduced in this report may be used in making rough appraisals of volumes of water to be discharged during flood times, records of daily flow are of much greater value. Records of daily flow should be used in connection with the design of drainage channels for flood control to determine the total volumes of water to be handled during storm periods and the maximum rates at which the water must be carried in the channels. Other uses of streamflow data, monthly or daily, are numerous.
The records collected in Palm Beach County are available in U. S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Papers or on file in U. S. Geological Survey offices at Ocala and Miami, Florida.
Examples of one way in which water-level and streamflow data are analyzed graphically are shown by the diagrams in figures 11-21 which follow immediately after the tables of discharge data discussed above. These diagrams were used in making the analyses pertaining to percentage of time given in the section on Surface Water. These diagrams show the percentage of time during the period of record that the water level (figs, 11-16) or discharge (figs. 17-21) equaled or exceeded any given value. Extremely high water levels or high
44 FILORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
rates of flood were equaled or exceeded during only a small percentage of the time, whereas extremely low water levels or rates of flow were equaled or exceeded during a large percentage of the time. The two types of curves shown in figures 11-21 are called stageduration and flow-duration curves.
Stage-duration curves show the percentage of the time the water elevation equaled or exceeded any given stage. For drainage channels like those in Palm Beach County stage-duration curves (figures 11-16) have many uses. When water levels in the canals are compared with land-surface elevations these curves may be used to estimate the percentage of time adjacent lands may be covered with water or to estimate the percentage of time that water levels may be high enough to waterlog the land. Thus these curves indicate, to some degree at least, the acuteness of flood-control problems in particular areas. These curves may be used also to estimate, for farming areas immediately adjacent to gaging station sites, the percentage of the time that water levels may be lower than is best for soil-moisture supply. These curves, which represent past occurrences, can be used to estimate future occurrences to the extent that water conditions during the period of record are a fair sample of conditions over a long period of time.
Flow-duration curves (figures 17-21) may be used to study the flow characteristics of a stream. For example, a flat curve shows that the variation in flow is relatively small during most of the time. This is characteristic of streams that have large surface or ground storage from which to draw water and are the more dependable streams for water supply.
REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS No. 13 45
Table 5.-TIDE-HEIGHT RECORDS FOR JUPITER RIVER AT JUPITER (Negative Figures Indicate Elevation below Mean Sea Level)
Water Elevation in Feet Above Mean Sea Level
Average
Period Range Highest Lowest Average of Tide High Tide Low Tide Average Low Tide (Feet)
1944
July............................. 0.8 0.5 0.21 0.04 0.49
August..... .................... .8 .5 .09 .16 .50
September1 ...................... 1.2 .2 .48 .22 .52
October.......................... 2.4 0 1.01 .78 .48
November ...................... 14 .1 .83 .59 .48
Decembert ...................... 1 4 8 .26 .04 .46
1945
January ......................... .7 .5 .07 .18 .50
February..................... .... .2 -.8 -.33 -.55 .44
March............' ...... ....... .2 1.0 .44 .64 .42
April........................... .0 -.9 -.05 27 .44
May............................ .'8 .5 0.00 .24 .49
June........................... . .8 .10 .42 .46
July .......................... .3 .6 .18 .41 .46
August... ...................... .7 .5 .04 .18 .40
September ..................... 1.1 .1 .46 .23 .46
October .................. .... 2.2 .3 1 15 .94 .42
November ....................... 1.7 0 .92 .70 .44
December ................ ...... 1.1 .3 .43 .19 .46
1046
January......................... .8 .7 .01 .24 .46
February 1........................ - .05 .27 .44
March 1........................ .. -. 5 .21 -.03 .48
M ay ..... ...................... 5 -- 8 .13 .36 .46
September ................ ...... 1.5 .4 .88 .66 .45
OctoberI .................. .... 2,1 .4 1.26 1.03 .45
November ................ ..... 1..A 0 1.07 .85 .44
December........................ 2.4 .3 .96 .74 .44
1947
January......................... .8 .6 .09 .15 .49
Februaryt........................ 1.3 .5 .29 .05 .47
March ........................... 1.2 .4 .45 .22 .47
April .......................... .7 .8 .09 .15 .49
May ..................... ..... .8 .6 .08 .17 .51
June ............................ 1.5 .1 .66 .44 .45
July............................ 1.3 .4 .l1 .39 .44
August.......................... 1.4 .5 .38 .03 .81
1048
JulyI ........................... 1.0 .6 .18 .22 .80
July, 1944, to July, 1947 (33 monthss). 2.4 -1.0 .34 .11 .40
1 Record for moth not complete.
Table &-MONTHLY AND ANNUAL FLOW OF WEST PALM BEACH CANAL AT CANAL POINT (NORTHWEST OF DAM), IN THOUSANDS OF ACRE-FEET
(Negative Figures Indicate Flow to Northwest)
Year I, Dcebr /r~a
Year January February March April May June July Aug September Ctober vemberber Aual
1939 ........... . ..... . ..... ..... . .. ..... ..... ... .. .... ........ ......... ......... .......... 19 .80 ..........
1940 ................ 22.39 21.35 17.19 18.96 28.98 7.47 13.32 -8.17 -17.17' '' 19.71 16.70 23.31 164-92
1941................. -.84 -4.47 8.59 7.65 12.29 23.90 -29.36 12.50 -12.71 -14.93 20.66 22.31 45.60 M
1942................. 23.09 20.82 10.88 3.08 19.68 -67.24 -9.57 23.58 6.31 25.44 12.36 13.66 82.09 0
1943............... 15.16 15.71 14.16 16.92 16.95 11.25 -13.86 1.92 -6.02 4.26 16.52 11.16 104.1
1944 ............. 1.5.33 1 79 15.65 12.60 20.08 9.53 13.29 8.72 8 57 -17.67 12.20 23.57 138.7
1945................ 20.15 16.08 21.43 19.59 21.023 9.12 -24.94 -11.34 -48.36 -2.04 20.07 26.38 67.23 >
1946................ 25.44 23.47 24.66 24.25 22.29 16.92 11.64 -.54 -17.66 20.52 .05 22.62 173.7 CA
1947................ 23.36 21.87 -.38 4.50 14.35 -13.86 -57.75 -27.30 -18.42 ................................ -53.63
1948........................... 22.13 34.01 26.93 24.39 23.47 22.40 -.82 -27.66 -7.41 14.42 38.85 170.7
1949................. 35.05 35.37 37.48 33.71 36.36 15.43 4.01 -5.01 -25.63 -6.39 26.05 22.63 209.1
1950............... .. 4.47 26.17 32.30 31.54 33.27 30.06 24.29 22.21 19.15 ...................... ........... ...........
Avemsge............ 16.71 19.57 19.63 18.16 22.70 6.00 -4.23 1.43 -12.89 2.15 13.90 20.39 110.18
igubest............. 35.05 35.37 37.48 33.71 36.36 30.08 24.29 23.58 19.15 25.44 26.05 38.85 209.1
Lowest ....... .. -.84 -4.47 -.38 3.08 12 29 -67.24 -57.75 -27.30 -48.36 -17.67 ...................... -53.63
Table 7.-MONTHLY AND ANNUAL FLOW OF WEST PALM BEACH CANAL AT WEST PALM BEACH, IN THOUSANDS OF ACRE-FEET
Year January February March April May June July August September October November December Annual
1939.......................... .................................... .... ... ........... ....... ........ 52.22 42.08 ............
1940................ 45.95 44.22 46.58 47.14 41.78 78.00 60.17 102.4 161.7 88.46 69.52 68.22 854.1
- 0
194 1 .............. 119.4 94.21 84.36 89.68 62.63 46.06 136.4 93.06 131.3 132.8 71.20 49.13 1,110
1942 ................. 52.27 39.90 56.47 117.0 60.96 169.9 90.25 59.68 77.81 56.46 34.89 26.77 842.4
1943............... 25.46 23.06 30.10 22.75 21.53 22.98 53.50 51.51 68.32 89.38 58.07 35.08 501.7
1944.... ........... 29.42 21.89 25.55 21.87 26.38 23.03 27.37 48.35 48.57 91.99 58.68 35.58 458.7
1945................ 34.70 21.43 20.06 11.65 12.93 28.06 47.72 44.84 122.9 128.9 64.66 37.11 575.&
194................. 39.16 24.77 32.30 24.42 51.57 68.79 68.52 65.96 128.1 79.18 97.25 60.64 740.7
1947............... 37.49 35.26 103.4 56.20 28.69 123.5 182.0 143.6 169.2 239.1 154.0 120.6 1,393
1948................ 96.20 56.08 48.22 38.02 42.80 32.93 41.42 82.45 149.9 190.9 78.16 49.91 907.0
1949................. 37.99 29.64 30.49 29.64 34.56 53.92 55.12 74.14 99.09 84.69 46.66 54.59 630.5 c
1950................ 87.49 32.19 31.92 29.05 26.77 28.36 42.19 56.80 66.71 123.7 83.29 38.52 647.0
1951................. 27.37 31.44 19.45 33.00 34.56 40.99 66.97 65.22 70.02 ........... .......... ......................
Average............. 52.75 37.84 44.07 43.37 37.10 59.71 72.63 74.00 107.8 118.6 72.38 51.52 787.2
Higbest ............. 119.5 94.21 103.4 117.0 62.63 169.9 182.0 143.6 169.2 239.1 154.0 120.6 1,393
Lowest .............. 25.46 21.43 19.45 11.65 12.93 22.98 27.37 44.84 48.57 56.46 34.89 26.77 458.7
.4 ,.
ac
Table 8.-MONTHLY AND ANNUAL FLOW OF HILL.nORO CANAL AT BELLE GLADZ, IN THOUSANDS OF ACRE-FEET
(Negative Figures Indicate Flow to Northwest)
Year January February March April May June July August September October November December Annud I0
1940 ................ 16.97 16.51 19.62 17.32 21.77 16.96 14.82 9.47 -0.0.1 14.15 17.65 18.45 183.7
1941 ................ 10.38 3.03 9.18 6.23 7.35 7.98 -5.15 3.68 3.42 -.14 8.68 11.14 65.78
1942 ................ 12.26 10.20 8.29 5.53 6.92 -10.35 -6.74 3.23 -.34 9.67 9.40 9.54 57.61
1943 ................ 9.93 8.98 9.23 7.94 6.13 3.84 2.53 5.31 3.87 7.42 7.15 5.23 77.56 0
1944 ................ 6.19 7.93 9.25 9.08 6.51 5.60 4.75 -1.77 4.13 -.89 9.68 12.39 72.67
1945 ................ 10.92 9.41 8.53 5.93 4.36 .48 -8.04 -3.75 -1.17 5.32 2.46 8.74 43.19
1946 ................ 8.78 11.82 12.56 12.25 7.35 6.50 6.02 6.75 1.68 1.08 -2.82 -4.25 67.72
1947 ................ 5.00 7.10 2.95 -.01 5.28 3.39 -.27 6.26 3.20 -7.07 -10.55 -.08 15.20
1948 ................ .38 7.84 15.97 11.86 18.39 16.86 11.61 9.14 3.53 -1.10 .25 14.45 109.2
194 ................ 17.20 16.12 20.92 13.54 13.76 14.46 8.44 .10 -7.56 .85 8.38 12.20 118.4
1950 ................ -.62 13.45 16.62 15.43 15.84 15.53 14.38 12.52 8.16 .......... ........... ......................
Average ............. 8.85 10.22 12.10 9.55 10.33 7.39 3.85 4.63 1..72 2.93 5.03 8.78 81.10
Highest............. 17.20 16.51 20.92 17.32 21..77 16.96 14.82 12.52 8.16 14.15 17.65 18.45 183.7
Lowest .............. -.62 3.03 2.95 -.01 4.36 -10.35 -8.04 -3.75 -7.56 -7.07 -10.55 -4.25 15.20
Table 9.--MONTHLY AND ANNUAL FLOW OF ~n ORO CANAL NEAR DEERFIELD BEACH (ABOVE DAM), IN THOUSANDS OF ACRE-FEET
Year January February March April May June July August September October November December Annual
1989... ............ ................................. ........... ........... ........... ..................... ........... ........... 52.96 12.94 ...........
1940............... 18.07 17.87 13.23 13.69 3.40 26.07 13.35 24.84 92.47 53.21 .36.16 29.13 341.5
.1941................ 44.87 57.63 38.57 47.68 20.72 29.78 94.76 58.64 60.81 79.74 36.03 14.17 582.9
............... 40.89 16.52 20.81 52.58 46.89 103.4 55.58 20.69 34.75 13.86 4.17 4.17 418.8
1943................. .2.84 2.12 1.94 2.00 2.13 2.20 3.13 4.21 16.78 25.23 10.55 10.00 83.13
.1944 ................ 4.67 2.60 1.25 1.36 1.44 1.46 1.74 18.23 15.89. 32.22 12.60 3.53 96.99
1945.... ............. 4.62 1.83 1.01 .30 .40 .48 2.72 5.05 27.83 51.52 44.45 9.71 149.4
1946 ................ 12.94 .56 .51 .39 5.94 12.96 15.64 13.10 36.51 30.76 28.80 15.04 173.2
1947 ................ 9.01 5.82 36.28 16.51 8.18 62.66 94.89 89.91 104.7 137.0 87.61 75.95 728.5 0
1948 ................ 59.04 27.29 13.06 16.36 17.59 17.52 23.94 48.28 82.28 113.4 56.57 18.85 494.2 2
1949 ................ 8.81 5.11 4.34 11.14 8.23 23.93 26.19 38.45 63.76 64.41 34.41 34.70 323.5 C
1950 ............... 61.01 11.70 7.79 13.48 14.10 14.48 19.32 26.39 20.31 63.83 37.53 14.90 304.8
1951............... .8,34 12.59 3.22 13.45 7.59 12.05 30.52 45.15 46.96 ............................................
Average............. 22.93 13.43 11.79 15.74 11.38 25.58 31.82 32.74 50.21 60.47 36.82 20.26 335.6
Highest............. 61.01 57.63 38.57 52.58 46.89 103.4 94.89 89.91 104.7 137.0 87.61 75.95 728.5
Lowest .............. 2.84 .56 .51 .30 .40 .48 1.74 4.21 15.89 13.86 4.17 3.53 83.13
Table 10.-MONTEHLY AND ANNUAL FLOW OF NORTH NEW RIVER CANAL AT SOUTH BAY (SOUTH OF DAM), IN THOUSANDS OF ACRE-FEET
(Negative Figures Indicate Flow to North)
Year January February March April May June July August September October November December Annual
1 9 ................ ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... 8.06 ...........
140................ 8.92 5.80 3.42 2.61 6.89 7.74 9.28 9.47 6.72 4.77 11.09 8.90 85.61
1941................ 8.20 6.09 7.27 5.66 7.22 1.41 -12.34 2.64 5.08 6.90 5.23 8.08 51.44
14................ 5.16 4.72 6.06 4.94 2.72 -10.93 -.19 10.58 5.67 10.24 11.03 12.29 82.29 O
1943................ 8.80 8.72 9.40 7.23 5.84 3.42 4.78 5.33 6.18 10.91 11.60 10.56 92.75
144 ................ 10.41 8.74 8.45 5.86 8.77 3.21 7.63 1.04 1.44 3.80 4.91 4.84 89.10
1945................ 11.22 7.53 4.84 7.99 5.92 4.32 1.53 5.60 3.75 3.14 3.33 3.75 62.89
1946................ 4.55 5.77 7.75 11.60 11.73 5.71 5.41 5.10 5.12 3.94 5.27 11.33 83.28
1947 ................ 11.48 10.23 6.71 3.67 6.81 6.27 2.44 .78 19.66 24.64 17.06 4.83 114.6
1948................ 6.07 10.02 21.51 22.02 23.88 14.77 17.18 19.75 11.05 9.66 -.02 5.19 161.1
1949 ................ 22.94 26.11 35.03 26.98 19.39 14.66 8.65 9.85 14.54 7.93 18.97 25.01 230.1
1950................ 14.16 23.70 25.84 26.00 26.32 26.67 27.49 19.83 15.99 .......... ........... ......................
Average ............. 10.17 10.68 12.39 11.32 11.41 7.02 6.53 8.18 8.65 8.59 8.85 9.35 101.3
Highest............. 22.94 26.11 35.03 26.98 26.32 26.67 27.49 19.83 19.66 24.64 18.97 25.01 230.1
Lowest.............. 4.55 4.72 3.42 2.61 2.72 -10.93 -12.34 .78 1.44 3.14 -.02 3.75 51.44
19
U
7_< 17 _'
>
0 1
12-4
Is
14 10 20 30 40 50 60 ...70 80 90 100
PERCENT OF DAYS WATER ELEVATION EQUALED OR EXCEEDED THAT SHOWN
FIGURE 11. Stage duration curve for Lake Okeechobee for period October 1941 to September 1950 (3,287 days).
10 I I I I I
- 16
CoarPont( f am), 190 to95 days/' das
> (/-20-Mile Bendl, July 1947 to Oct 1950 ( 1,066 days
w
.s Land-surf ace elevation 13.5 ft above sea level
<= a 0 oaoce, t.142t Dc 15(,49das
-J-
4114
w
I-- Land-surface elevation 18.5 ft above sea level
West Palm Beach ( above dam ), Nov. 1939 toi Sept. 1951 (4,352 days )
Lond-surface elevation 18 ft above sea level
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 8 9 1 0
PERCENT OF DAYS WATER ELEVATION EQUALED OR EXCEEDED THAT SHOWN
wU 12. Stae-duration curves for est Pa Beach Canal.
ILIO
Loahtcheem Sept. 1942bo dec. v 19(39 daS)p.15 42 as
Land-surface elevation 8S f t above' sea level
IL u f c e L t o -A8 f t a b- s e l e v elI I _
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
PERCENT OF DAYS WATER ELEVATION EQUALED OR EXCEEDED THAT SHOWN
FiGURE 12. Stage-duration curves for West Palm Beach Canal3.
18
17
.J
w
Lond-surface elevation 13.5 ft above sea level '
I i
16
0 15"
ca
SU0 2 30 40 50 60 70 .80 9 00
PERCENT OF DAYS WATER ELEVATION EQUALED OR EXCEEDED THAT SHOWN,
FIGUE 13. Stage-duration curve for Cross Canal at 20-Mile Bend (above dam) for period August 1947
to September 1950 (1.157 days) .
2 03
100 01 10_ 20__0_0s_7 8 9 0 PECN FDY AE EEAINEULDO-ECEE HTSON
Fx~uE 1. Sage-uraioncure fo Crss ana at 0-Mle end(aboe dm) or erio Auust194
toSpebe 90(,17dy)
1Belle Glade, June 1940 to Sept 1950 ( 3,774 days) Land-surface elevation 16.5 ft above sea level
> r-Shawono, Jan. 1942 to Dec. 1951 ( 3,652 days ) .j Land-surface elevation 13 ft above sea level < 14 .
w
>
-J
> -"****-----....
Lw
- 2 *
z
z
> C,
w
-AJ 6_ _ __
co 6 .. ... "" *** ....
0 Range Line Road, Oct. 1947 to Dec. 1951 (1I,553 days)
Land-surface elevation 15.5 ft above'sea level
Deerfield Beach (above dam ), Nov. 1939 to Sept. 1951 (4,352 days)-/
Land-surface elevation 13.5 ft above sea level
2 1 I I I
0 10 20 30 40 *50 60. 70 80 90 .100
PERCENT OF DAYS WATER ELEVATION EQUALED OR EXCEEDED THAT SHOWN
FnGUR 14. Stage-duration curves for Hillsboro Canal.
16
IC
_15
W Land-surface elevation 14.5 ft above sea level
-J
< 14.
10
W
0
123 14
3: 9
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 .70 so 90 100
PERCENT OF DAYS WATER ELEVATION EQUALED OR EXCEEDED THAT SHOWN
FIGURE 15. Stage-duration curve for North New River Canal a t South Bay (north of dam) for period November 1939 to September 1951 (4,352 days).
U.'o
16 1w
. 15 Land-surface elevation 15ft above sea level o h
z 0
I"U
LU
LU I
.-j
121 1- _ _-_
0 10. 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
PERCENT OF DAYS WATER ELEVATION EQUALED OR EXCEEDED THAT SHOWN
IGURz 16. Stage-duration curve for Miami Canal at Lake Harbor (south of dam) for period May 1946 to June 1950 (1,522 days).
1,600
1,400
z
0
o
W 1,200
r Note.- No measurable flow on 7.6% of days
.1,0 00 ....
W. Flow to northwest o a 00
600 .
o
Flo to southeast
400 20 40 50 60 70 80 90 00 CO,
200
00 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 PERCENT OF DAYS DISCHARGE EQUALED OR EXCEEDED THAT SHOWN FIGURE 17. Flow-duration curve for West Palm Beach Canal at Canal Point (northwest of dam) for period December 1939 to September 1950 (3,957 days).
8,000
7,000
a
Z
0
Co
LU
S5,000
w0 IL.i
o 4,000
0
2,000
.I,1000
1 0 1 OO
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
PERCENT OF DAYS DISCHARGE EQUALED OR EXCEEDED THAT SHOWN
FIGURE 18. Flow-duration curve for West Palm Beach Canal at West Palm Beach (above dam) for period November 1939 to September 1951 (4,352 days).
400
z
0
o
w 300
Note.- No meosuroble flow on 1.4% of days
S200 I.
Flow to southeast
Mz 100
Flow to northwest
0
00 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 PERCENT OF DAYS DISCHARGE EQUALED OR EXCEEDED THAT SHOWN FIGURE 19. Flow-duration curve for Hillsboro Canal at Belle Glade for period November 1942 to September 1950 (2,891 days).
4,oo000o
3,500 0
2,5 0 0
W
W!
o 2,000
0o o
U
S3,000
500
0* .
-i
500
.1.
O --* -* -% "
0 I0 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 PERCENT OF DAYS DISCHARGE EQUALED OR EXCEEDED THAT SHOWN FIGuRE 20. Flow-duration curve for Hillsboro Canal near Deerfield Beach (above dam) for period November 1939 to September 1951 (4,352 days).
800
70
o
w 600
. Note.- No measurable flow on 1.6% of days
' Flow to south
:<:,.,00
Flow to north
100
0
1942 to oetember 1950 (305 daYS).
o 0 ,oZ o oeo7 o, o
PERCENT OF DAYS DISCHARGE EQUALED OR EXCEEDED THAT .SHOWN
FIGURE 21. Flow-duration curve for North New River Canal at South Bay (south of dam) for period April 1942 to September 1930 (3,105 days). c
62 Fi.oRIIDA GEOLOGICAL, SURVEY
SOURCES OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Inquiries relating to current water-resources information for Palm Beach County may be addressed to the following members of the U. S. Geological Survey:
Ground Water:
District Geologist, GW
P. O. Box 348
Coconut Grove Station
Miami 33, Florida
Quality of Water:
District Chemist, QW
P. O. Box 607 Ocala, Florida
Surface Water:
District Engineer, SW
P. O. Box 607 Ocala, Florida
REPORT Or INVES'rIGA'rIONS No. 13 63
REFERENCES
Black, A. P.
1951 (and Brown, E.) Chemical character of Florida's waters 1951:
Florida State Board of Conserv., Water Survey and Research
Paper, no. 6, 119 pp.
Clayton, B. S.
1942 (Neller, J. R., and Allison, R. V.) Water control in the peat and
muck soils of the Everglades: Univ. Fla. Expt. Sta. Bull. 378, 74 pp.
Collins, W. D.
1928 (and Howard, C. S.) Chemical Character of waters of Florida:
U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 596-G, pp. 177-233.
Cook, C. Wythe (Also see Parker, C. G.)
1945 Geology of Florida: Florida Geol. Survey Bull. 29, 339 pp.
Ferguson, G. E. (Also see Parker, G. G.)
1943 Summary of 3 years of surface-water studies in the Everglades:
Soil Sci. Soc. of Florida Proc., vol. V, pp. 18-23.
Love, S. K.
1942 (and Swenson, H. A.) Chemical character of public water supplies in southeastern Florida: Jour. Am. Water Works Assoc.,
vol. 34, no. 11, pp. 1624-1628.
Parker, G. G.
1944 (and Cooke, G. W.) Late Cenozoic geology of southern Florida,
with a discussion of the ground water: Florida Geol. Survey
Bull. 27, 119 pp.
1945 Salt-water encroachment in southern Florida: Jour Am. Water
Works Assoc., vol. 37, no. 6, pp. 526-542.
1951 Geologic and hydrologic factors in the perennial yield of the
Biscayne aquifer: Jour. Am. Water Works Assoc., vol. 43, no. 10,
pp. 817-834, 7 figs.
195- (Ferguson, G. E. Love, S. K., and others) Water resources of
southeastern Florida with special reference to the geology and ground water of the Miami area: U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply
Paper (in preparation).
Puri, Harbans S.
1953 Zonation of the Ocala Group in Peninsular Florida (abstract):
Jour. Sedimentry Petrology, vol. 23, no. 2, p. 130.
Sellards, E. H.
1913 (and Gunter, Herman) The artesian water supply of eastern and
southern Florida: Florida Geol. Survey 5th Ann. Rept.
Stringfleld, V. T.
1933 Ground water in the Lake Okeechobee area, Florida: Florida
Geol. Survey Rept. Inv. 2, 31 pp.
Vernon, R. O.
1951 Geology of Citrus and Levy Counties, Florida: Florida Geol. Survey Bull. 33, 255 pp.
|
Full Text |
xml version 1.0 encoding UTF-8
REPORT xmlns http:www.fcla.edudlsmddaitss xmlns:xsi http:www.w3.org2001XMLSchema-instance xsi:schemaLocation http:www.fcla.edudlsmddaitssdaitssReport.xsd
INGEST IEID E7T89138N_2MXP7T INGEST_TIME 2017-05-03T18:51:35Z PACKAGE UF00001197_00001
AGREEMENT_INFO ACCOUNT UF PROJECT UFDC
FILES
PAGE 1
-1j STATE OF FLORIDA STATE BOARD OF CONSERVATION Charlie Bevis, Supervisor FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Herman Gunter, Director REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS No. 13 WATER RESOURCE STUDIES WATER RESOURCES .OF PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA By M. C. Schroeder, D. L. Milliken and S. K. Love Water Resources Division U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY In cooperation with the THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN FLORIDA FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICT TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 1954
PAGE 2
CULTURAL FLORIDA STATE BOARD L'Bu OF CONSERVATION CHARLEY E. JOHNS Acting Governor R. A. GRAY NATHAN MAYO Secretary of State Commissioner of Agriculture J. EDWIN LARSON THOMAS D. BAILEY Treasurer Superintendent Public Instruction CLARENCE M. GAY RICHARD ERVIN Comptroller Attorney General CHARLIE BEVIS Supervisor of Conservation
PAGE 3
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL i September 1, 1954 Mr. Charlie Bevis, Supervisor Florida State Board of Conservation Tallahassee, Florida Dear Mr. Bevis: The officials of the Central and Southern Florida Flood Control District have long felt the need for a tabulation and compilation of water facts covering ground waters, surface waters and the quality of such waters, as found within the district. In an attempt to make this information on water resources readily available, the District entered into cooperation with the U. S. Geological Survey in 1953, to compile and summarize all of the water data in the district. This report, "Water Resources of Palm Beach County," is the first of what is hoped to be a series of such studies and compilations. The facts on water are necessary to a wise development of any area and, in particular, to a wise and conservative development of water controls and supplies of water for farms, industries and municipalities. It is hoped that the integration of work programs of the Flood Control District, the Florida Geological Survey and the U. S. Geological Survey can be continued and more studies such as this will be published. This report is being published as Report of Investigations No. 13, a Water Resource Studies of the Florida Geological Survey, in order that the data on water can be made available immediately to all of the citizens of Florida. Very truly yours, Herman Gunter, Director
PAGE 4
Printed by ROSE PRINTING COMPANY. TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA
PAGE 5
CONTENTS Page Letter of Transm ittal .. ........ ........................ ..iii Preface ..... .............. ............... .viii A bstract .. ... ....... ................................. .1 Introduction .... ..... ............... ............. 3 Central and Southern Florida Flood Control Project .... 3 Purpose and scope of this report....................... 4 Description of the area .............................. 5 Geology .................................................. 7 G eneral features ...................................... 7 Geologic formations ................................. 9 Hydrologic properties ................................ 11 Chemical quality of water............................... 14 Ground water .................... .................... 16 Water-table conditions ............................... 16 Artesian conditions ................ .......... ........ 24 Surface water ...................... .................... 26 Streamflow records .......................................43 Sources of additional information.......................... 62 References ...................... .................... 63
PAGE 6
ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1. Map of Florida showing location of Palm Beach County......... 4 2. Map of Palm Beach County showing location of gaging stations, observation wells, and quality-of-water-sampling stations........................Between pages 4 and 5 3. Map of Palm Beach County showing the physiographic areas.... 6 4. Generalized west-to-east cross section through central Palm Beach County showing the relationship of the nonartesian and artesian aquifers to the confining beds.............. 10 5. Generalized north-to-south cross section along U. S. Highway 27 in the Everglades area of Palm Beach County......... 15 6. Minimum, maximum and mean of the average monthly water levels in well 88 for 7 years of record ending in 1951..... 17 7. Map of Lake Worth area showing water-table contours for November 11, 1945...................................18 8. Hydrograph of water level in well 88 at Lake Worth for 1944-52 ...................................................20 9 Selected water-surface profiles on West Palm Beach Canal.......37 10. Map of Lake Okeechobee area showing gaging station and quality-of-water-sampling stations ....................... 39 11. Stage-duration curve for Lake Okeechobee for period October 1941 to September 1950 (3,287 days) ................... 51 12. Stage-duration curves for West Palm Beach Canal.............. 52 13. Stage-duration curve for Cross Canal at 20-Mile Bend (above dam) for period August 1947 to September 1950 (1,157 days) ................... ........ .............. .53 14. Stage-duration curves for Hillsboro Canal.....................54 15. Stage-duration curve for North New River Canal at South Bay (north of dam) for period November 1939 to September 1951 (4,352 days) ................................... 55 16. Stage-duration curve for Miami Canal at Lake Harbor (south of dam) for period May 1946 to June 1950 (1,522 days) ..................................................... 56 17. Flow-duration curve for West Palm Beach Canal at Canal Point (northwest of dam) for period December 1939 to September 1950 (3,957 days).................. ............ 57 18. Flow-duration curve for West Palm Beach Canal at West Palm Beach (above dam) for period November 1939 to September 1951 (4,352 days) .................. .......... 58 19. Flow-duration curve for Hillsboro Canal at Belle Glade for period November 1942 to September 1950 (2,891 days) .........59 20. Flow-duration curve for Hillsboro Canal near Deerfield Beach (above dam) for period November 1939 to September 1951 (4,352 days)................................... 60 21. Flow-duration curve for North New River Canal at South Bay (south of dam) for period April 1942 to September 1950 (3,105 days) .. ........ .................... ... ........ 61
PAGE 7
TABLES Table Page 1. Geologic formations in Palm Beach County.................. 8 2. Chemical analyses of ground waters in Palm Beach County, in parts per million............... ............ ......25 3. Surface-water gaging stations in Palm Beach County through December 31, 1951 ................................ 28 4, Chemical analyses of surface waters in Palm Beach County, in parts per million ........................................41 5. Tide-height records for Jupiter River at Jupiter .................45 6. Monthly and annual flow of West Palm Beach Canal at Canal Point (northwest of dam), in thousands of acre-feet.... 46 7. Monthly and annual flow of West Palm Beach Canal at West Palm Beach, in thousands of acre-feet................47 8. Monthly and annual flow of Hillsboro Canal at Belle Glade, in thousands of acre-feet................................ 48 9. Monthly and annual flow of Hillsboro Canal near Deerfleld Beach (above dam), in thousands of acre-feet ................49 10. Monthly and annual flow of North New River Canal at South Bay (south of dam), in thousands of acre-feet.......... 50
PAGE 8
PREFACE This report was prepared to provide a summary of groundand surface-water resources information that will be helpful in the orderly planning for the utilization and control of water in Palm Beach County. The surface-water section of this report was prepared by D. L. Milliken under the supervision of A. 0. Patterson, district engineer, Surface Water Branch; the ground-water discussion was prepared by M. C. Schroeder under the direction of Nevin D. Hoy, district geologist, Ground Water Branch; and the section on the chemical quality of water was prepared by S. K. Love, chief, Quality of Water Branch. The cost of preparation of the report was shared equally by the U. S. Geological Survey and the Central and Southern Florida Flood Control District. Most of the data on which this report is based have been collected over a period of years by the U. S. Geological Survey in cooperation with: Central and Southern Florida Flood Control District City of Delray Beach City of Lake Worth City of West Palm Beach Corps of Engineers, U. S. Army, Jacksonville District Everglades Drainage District Florida Geological Survey Lake Worth Drainage District Palm Beach County Soil Conservation Service, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture
PAGE 9
WATER RESOURCES OF PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA By M. C. SCHROEDER, D. L. MILLIKEN, AND S. K. LOVE ABSTRACT Palm Beach County lies wholly within the Terraced Coastal Lowlands (Vernon, 1951, p. 16), and is divided into three physiographic subdivisions: The coastal ridge paralleling the Atlantic coast and extending about 5 miles inland; the Everglades; and the sandy flatlands which lie between the coastal ridge and the Everglades. The principal source of ground water in Palm Beach County is the water-table aquifer, which ranges in thickness from 60 to 300 feet and is composed of the surface sands and the permeable limestone and shell beds underlying them. About 8,000 million gallons was withdrawn from this aquifer by wells in 1951. The capability of the water-table formations to transmit water to wells differs greatly from place to place in the county, but large quantities of shallow ground water are available in most parts of the county. The aquifer discharges large quantities of water into canals that annually discharge about five times as much water into the ocean as they receive from Lake Okeechobee. Principal recharge of the aquifer is by local rainfall which averages about 60 inches a year. Control structures near the ocean ends of the canals that cut through the coastal ridge are effective in maintaining high groundwater levels in the ridge area. These high water levels, averaging about 7 feet above mean sea level, are a prime reason why salt-water encroachment in Palm Beach County has not been a serious problem. The relatively low permeability of the shallow subsurface materials makes it considerably easier to control water levels artificially in Palm Beach County than in coastal areas to the south. Beds of relatively impermeable silts and marls lie underneath the water-table formations and separate them from the deeper formations which contain water under pressure and which, collectively, are named the Floridan aquifer. The Floridan aquifer is encountered at depths ranging from 600 to 900 feet below land surface, and wells that penetrate this aquifer will flow at the surface under pressures ranging from about 53 feet above mean sea level near Belle Glade to about 37 feet at West Palm Beach.
PAGE 10
2 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Wells less than 50 feet deep, within 1 to 3 miles of the coast, usually yield relatively soft water-hardness is less than 100 parts per million (ppm)--whereas farther inland the water from shallow wells is considerably harder. Samples from wells near Lake Okeechobee showed hardness ranging from 557 to 5,670 ppm. Throughout the county there is a tendency for hardness to increase with depth in the water-table aquifer. The water from shallow wells in the western part of the county is of such poor quality that it is undesirable for practically all purposes except possibly irrigation. However, because no other source of water is available, shallow ground water is used extensively for domestic purposes. Water from deep wells tapping the artesian (Floridan) aquifer contains 3,000 to 4,000 ppm of dissolved minerals and averages 2,000 ppm or more of chloride. This water is undesirable for most uses. The major surface waterways in Palm Beach County are the artificial drainage channels: West Palm Beach, Hillsboro, Miami, and North New River canals. Lake Okeechobee, having an area of 700 square miles, lies entirely within the county and is fed by streams draining areas that lie principally to the north of the lake. Discharge from the lake is controlled by a system of gates on all outlet channels. The principal use of surface water in the county is for the irrigation of truck crops and sugar cane. Lake Okeechobee and two smaller lakes, Clear Lake and Lake Mangonia, in the eastern part of the county serve as sources of public water supply for towns adjacent to the lake and for Palm Beach and West Palm Beach. Estimates of the total volume of surface water being used in the county are not available. For the 11-year period 1940-50, inclusive, the mean annual flow of the West Palm Beach Canal was 787,000 acre-feet. Of this volume of flow, 110,000 acre-feet was derived from Lake Okeechobee and the remainder from surface runoff and ground-water inflow. The maximum monthly flow at West Palm Beach during the 1940-50 period was 239,000 acre-feet and the minimum monthly flow was 11,600 acre-feet. The mean annual flow of the Hillsboro Canal near Deerfield Beach during the same period was 336,000 acre-feet with a maximum monthly flow of 137,000 acre-feet and a minimum monthly flow of 300 acre-feet. Although flow in the major drainage canals is generally from Lake Okeechobee toward the coast, at times the flow in the lake ends of the canals is toward the lake owing to various combinations of concentrated rainfall and drainage pumping from farmlands into the canals.
PAGE 11
REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS No. 13 3 Flow in Hillsboro Canal at Belle Glade and West Palm Beach Canal at Canal Point was toward the lake during 17 percent of the period 1939-50. Flow in North New River Canal at South Bay was toward the lake only 2 percent of the period 1942-50. Flooding of the lowlands adjacent to the canals is rather frequent. Records of stage collected since about 1940 show that water levels in the canals in the vicinity of Lake Okeechobee were above land levels only a few days at Belle Glade but as much as 11 percent of the time at Canal Point. Canal water levels were above land levels in the Everglades for 25 percent of the time in the developed areas and 65 percent of the time in the undeveloped areas. In the sandy flatlands and coastal ridge areas canal water levels are frequently near but never above land levels. Water in Lake Okeechobee is essentially uniform in chemical composition, moderately lard (hardness 135 ppm) and satisfactory without expensive treatment for practically all uses. Chemical quality of water in the lake ends of the canals is generally similar to that in Lake Okeechobee whenever water is being discharged from the lake. Owing to inflow and seepage, the hardness, the total content of dissolved minerals, and the color of water in the canals increases rapidly with distance from the lake. Water quality in the canals is highly variable and, except near Lake Okeechobee, is generally unsatisfactory for most uses except irrigation. During an 18-month period, hardness of water in Hillsboro Canal at Shawano ranged from 164 to 418 ppm, total dissolved minerals from 286 to 863 ppm, and color from 35 to 560. INTRODUCTION CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN FLORIDA FLOOD CONTROL PROJECT On January 3, 1950, construction was begun on works of the Central and Southern Florida Flood Control Project. This extensive plan for the control of water in the lower part of peninsular Florida has as its aims: (1) the rapid removal of flood waters; (2) the storage of portions of the surplus waters; (3) the prevention of over-drainage; (4) the prevention of salt-water encroachment; and (5) the protection of developed areas. A great change in the pattern of flow of the surface waters of Palm Beach County will have taken place by the time the Project is com-
PAGE 12
4 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY pleted. Changes in the pattern of flow have already occurred as a result of the works completed thus far, and will continue as more and more of the works are completed and put into operation. The data presented herein were collected before project works had made significant changes in the surface water pattern and are, therefore, generally comparable. Data collected after the end of 1951, however, may not be comparable to that collected before. PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THIS REPORT The purpose of this report is to summarize ground-water and surface-water data collected in Palm Beach County (fig. 1) by the U. S. Geological Survey. The report is intended to be an aid in the development of farm, public, and industrial water supplies. It contains information that will be of value in appraising flood-control problems in the county and includes information pertinent to the 'l „ ". *' l \ 'O ' " , .*'-'. .L -+, ,t*^ ."",^ ",---._ , )4 b *, "I ,b" ' °o [/ 4~%.<. \ '"* ":':,,. ] K» .. -/ _?A~O'--..... ,"M I Nta I ' "* -1 -6 L PASCO _, _ _ _ .o _ _ A .-...~ ~ ---. ----...,----LL ^ ^ .^ n DAIN ii I €., : IM C t4 ** ** j 84'* i 1J Irnam 1 Man _f ,I__lri _hwin I nI on' o al Bech ount._ L,..tl 1 4f I te,
PAGE 13
EXPLANATION GAGING STATION LOCATION AND INDEX NUMBER (Conllnued aoter December 31, 1951) 24 M MARTIN COUN TY' IN SOAOING STATION LOCATION AND INDEX NUMBER TJUPITER (iOscontinued on or before Deo. 31, 1951) ) INLET 110 * 1( JUPITE 0 WELL LOCATION AN NUMBER. --(Fo) . k CHEMICAL ANALYSES OF WATER LETTERS AT OAGINO STATION INDEX NUMBERS HAVE FOLLOWING MEANINGSit CANAL ( d) Record of flow ooch day POINT ( F ) Occasoonal meoourement of flow V \ (Ed) Record of waoer elevallon each day 0 -(FdEd) / (Ed) (te) Occasional measurement of woter elevotion f 0 B I ' 50" 0 'IRIVIERA 6 (EdMAdN)ON/A I WEST L ALAKE A R CL AR PALM (FoFd,Ed) RB O EN E ) BEACH I E GLAD LOXAH TCHEE I o) 12 (Eo, , PAL 200-CROSS -CANAL -CANL 37(Ed) ,((FoXd 20-MILE BEND 8 9 10 I UTH 32(Ed) 0 (EdE (Eo) (Eo,Ed) (Eo) 18 (EoEd) () BAY 903 3 (Ed) d L. 33 )(Ed) LEVEE 40 LAKE (Fd,Ed) g 0 -MILE BEND BORROW DITCH CL ?5 21(Ed) IS( d d) (Fo, Ed) LAK d SBO HAWANO LBO TON CANAL P (E 0d) I \ \ \. OKEELANTA WORT S I l ld -1Ed SSHAWANO YTON CANAL Fd 126 S((Ed) 49 (Ed ' i dog42(Ea)DdA \ BROWAR0 ROA ((E) D ) 2740 () S.4(Ed)(Ed) Fd.Ed) " Z, % S* SOA IN MILES ( d ( .... E . Fwuuu 2. Map of Palm Beach County showing lQotpon of .gaglng stationis,Si obser'vatIon efl d.:.quality.fo .... ^.amp gs n
PAGE 14
REPORT or INVESTIGATIONS No. 13 5 comprehensive water controls now practiced or contemplated in the area. Surface and subsurface geologic features are discussed briefly in order to provide a basic understanding of the occurrence of both ground water and surface water in the county. Inasmuch as the intelligent utilization of water resources requires that the chemical quality of the water be adequate for its intended use, information is given concerning the chemical constituents found in the waters of Palm Beach County. The scope of this report does not permit inclusion of all the basic water data that are available. An index showing the principal observational stations at which water resources data have been collected is given in figure 2. These data are on file at the Miami and Ocala offices of the U, S. Geological Survey. Summaries of the more important segments of the data are presented and conclusions and interpretations are made wherever they are adequately supported by existing information, In order to maintain the relative brevity of the report many of the data supporting the various interpretations have been omitted. DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA Palm Beach County is bordered on the north by Okeechobee and Martin counties, on the west by Glades and Hendry counties, on the south by Broward County, and on the east by the Atlantic Ocean. Lake Okeechobee, having an area of about 700 square miles, is entirely within Palm Beach County. The land area of the county is approximately rectangular in outline and has a total area of 1,978 square miles. The area may be differentiated into three physiographic subdivisions (fig. 3): The coastal ridge, the sandy flatlands, and the Everglades. The coastal ridge parallels the sea coast and extends inland about 5 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. The sandy flatlands area lies between the coastal ridge on the east and the Everglades on the west. The Everglades, a part of which comprises the western part of the county, is a southward extension of the Lake Okeechobee basin. The land surface of Palm Beach County slopes gently to the south and ranges in elevation from about 25 feet above sea level on the coastal Sridgenear-the'northern boundary to about 11 feet above sea level in the southern part of the Everglades. In 1950 the population of Palm Beach County was 114,688 persons. The bulk of the populatiotn ls.concentrated in the cities and towns on the ooa tal ridge ard.:in 6ucii along th: oea heahri The
PAGE 15
6 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY remainder of the population is centered in small agricultural communities along the shore of Lake Okeechobee or scattered sparsely throughout the county on farms and ranches. West Palm Beach, the county seat, is the largest city in the county, with a 1950 population of 43,162. Farming and cattle raising are major occupations, especially in the sandy flatlands and the Everglades. The subtropical climate, with rainfall averaging 55 to 63 inches that falls principally in the months from June to October, favors the growth of winter vegetables. !. " r o1 j / ,~ u u <° Szo 040 ."" 0 ^Ifif W, 0 1y> U tI. L -yri crJ /^_ _ « .-. _ _. * *_
PAGE 16
REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS No. 13 7 GEOLOGY GENERAL FEATURES The formations exposed at the surface in Palm Beach County are composed of sand, limestone, coquina, and the oolitic limestone deposited during the "ice age," which began approximately 1 to 2 million years ago. The western part of the county, which comprises a part of the Everglades, is covered by organic soils which started accumulating about 5,000 years ago and range in thickness from 3 to 10 feet. Sand mantles almost the entire area east of the Everglades. Hard limestone a foot or two thick occurs in some places immediately beneath the surface sand in the sandy flatlands area. A soft oolitic limestone exposed near Boca Raton grades northward into a coquina composed of a cemented mass of broken shells. The coquina is exposed along the Atlantic shore line near Palm Beach and north of Boca Raton. The geologic formations underlying the .area may be described as two aquifers separated by confining beds (fig. 4). The Pamlico sand, Anastasia and Fort Thompson formations, and the Caloosahatchee marl, composed of permeable sand, limestone, and shell beds, comprise the water-table or nonartesian aquifer. The base of the nonartesian. aquifer ranges from 10 to about 300 feet below land surface. At depths varying from 550 to 650 feet below land surface the other aquifer is encountered, which contains water under artesian conditions and has sufficient pressure to flow to the surface. This principal artesian aquifer underlies all of Florida and part of southeast Georgia and is named the Floridan aquifer, and in Palm Beach County is composed of limestone of the Hawthorn (lower part), Tampa, Suwannee, Ocala, and Avon Park formations ranging in age from 30 to 60 million years. The artesian aquifer is overlain by relatively impermeable confining beds which tend to prevent the upward movement of the artesian water. These beds are composed of green silts and clayey marls of the Tamiami and Hawthorn (upper part) formations. In some of the other counties of Florida, the whole of the Hawthorn is composed of impermeable beds. The definitions of the formations are those used by Cooke (1945), Vernon (1951), and Puri (1953). A generalized section of the formations in the order that they would be penetrated by a well 1,300 feet in depth is given in table 1. Also indicated is the approximate
PAGE 17
Table 1.-GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS IN PALM BEACH COUNTY APPROXIMATE (OCCTRRBECE IN FEET BELOW LAND St'FACE FozaATioN GEOLOGIC AGE ___ CHA RACTER Everglades Area Coastal Area .gmie soils ........... ............ Recent. ................. 0 -8 I Absent .Pamlico sand..................... Late Pleistocene .......... Absent 0 -10 Sand. Yield water to sand-point wells. Anastasia formation.............. Pleistocene. ............ Absent 10 -230 Sand. limestone, and shell beds. Fair to good aquifer. Cr Fort Thompson formation......... Pleistocene. ............ 8 -30 Absent Marine and fresh-water sands, mas, limestone, and shell beds. Fair aquifer. Caloosahatebee marl............. Pliocene ............... 30 -110 230 -330 Shelly sands and shell marl. Fair aquifer. Tamismi formation............... Late Miocene........... 110 -180 330 -400 Marly sand, marL and shell beds. Low permeability; confining beds. Bawthorn formation .............. Miocene ................ 180 -680 400 -890 Clayey and sandy marl. Low permeability; confining beds. Limestone beds in lower part yield some artesian water. Tampa formation ................. Early Miocene.......... 680 -800 890 -940 Limestone and some marl. Yields some artesian water. Sauannee limestone............. Oligocene............... 800 -890 940 -1,000 Limestone. Yields artesian water. asla'roup...................... Late Eocene............ 890 -970 1,000 -? do. Avon Park limestone.............. Late middle Eocene..... 970 -1,300+ Unknown do. __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ I.
PAGE 18
REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS No. 13 9 depth below land surface at which each formation occurs in the Everglades and coastal areas. All the formations older than the Pleistocene underlie the entire county. One or two of the three Pleistocene formations will be penetrated by a well, depending upon its location. GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS' The geologic formations in Palm Beach County are discussed in the following paragraphs in order of occurrence from the land surface downward. Additional information on each formation is given in table 1.1 The gray or white surface sand (Pamlico sand) mantles all of Palm Beach County east of the Everglades, except in the Loxahatchee marsh area where organic soils cover the surface. The surface sand ranges from 1 or 2 feet in thickness on the sandy flatlands between the Everglades and the coastal ridge to about 10 feet along the coastal ridge and the barrier beaches that are separated from the mainland by the Intracoastal Waterway. In the dune areas this sand attains a maximum thickness of about 50 feet. The Anastasia formation immediately underlies the surface sand. It is composed of sand, sandstone, limestone, coquina, and shell beds and underlies all of eastern Palm Beach County, extending westward to the edge of the Everglades. The Anastasia formation is about 40 to 50 feet thick near the Everglades but beneath the coastal ridge it is possibly as much as 200 feet thick. The marine sands, shell beds, limestones or sandstone, and freshwater marls or limestones that underlie the soils of the Everglades comprise the Fort Thompson formation and are equivalent in age to the Anastasia formation. The thickness and character of these beds, because they vary from place to place, can be determined only by test drilling. The formation is between 20 and 50 feet thick and is overlain by thin beds of fresh-water marl which in turn are overlain by the organic soils of the Everglades. The Caloosahatchee marl underlies the Fort Thompson and Anastasia formations and is composed mainly of shelly sand and sandy shell marl with minor amounts of limestone and sandstone. In the Everglades area the formation apparently decreases in thickness from 1. The stratigraphis nomenclature of this report conforms to the nomenclature of the Florida Geological Survey. It also conforms to that of the U. S. Geological Survey except that .Tampa formation is used instead of Tampa limestone and instead of Ocala limestone the Ocala group is applied to all sediments in Palm Beach County of Jackson age and subdivisions of this unit were not made,
PAGE 19
10 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY NVJ300 OI/NVV71V J 1/ Io Sz . o I I o0 Q o x I I * 0 I I S I z I 43 I i I I , , "-JN1 0 V).:3 U. I0 I _: W about 70 feet near Belle Glade to about 7 feet near the Broward County sands and silty shell marls of low permeability with occasional thin 11 O) 0 1.Wo z o o o 1 o4 -----------e a 7 fe ea kbt l. At the f o i o ofr sil, shelly s t wt o ti abu 0 etnerBle ld t bu 7fe -erte rwrdCut Th aimifrain scmoedpicpal fsltsel sad ndslyshl also o prebiiywthocsonlti
PAGE 20
REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS No. 13 11 interbedded limestone or sandstone. The formation underlies the Caloosahtchee marl and is believed to occur beneath all of Palm Beach County. The Tamiami formation ranges between 70 and 100 feet in thickness, and occurs at greater depths in the eastern part. Relatively impermeable clayey and sandy marls compose most of the Hawthorn formation which underlies all the county. The formation is encountered at 175 feet below the land surface near Belle Glade and at 400 feet near West Palm Beach where it is about 500 feet thick. The upper part of the Hawthorn formation separates the overlying formations from the Floridan (artesian) aquifer. The Tampa formation' is about 130 feet thick and is composed mainly of light-colored sandy limestone with different amounts of marl. It underlies the Hawthorn formation throughout Palm Beach County. The lower part of the Hawthorn formation and the Tampa formation in this area are the uppermost components of the Floridan aquifer. The Tampa formation is underlain at successively greater depths by the Suwannee limestone, Ocala group,' and Avon Park limestone. These formations are composed of dense but cavernous and permeable limestones which act as a hydrologic unit constituting the artesian aquifer. HYDROLOGIC PROPERTIES The physical characteristics of the confining beds and of the Floridan aquifer in Palm Beach County appear to be relatively uniform whereas those of the water-table aquifer differ from place to place. In most instances the only data available to determine the hydrologic properties of the geologic materials were obtained by an examination of well cuttings. In a few cases data concerning yield and drawdown or pumping test in the water-table aquifer are available. The hydrologic properties of the water-table aquifer described in this report will be considered by areas: The coastal ridge, the sandy flatlands, and the Everglades. The sand and shell materials comprising the water-table aquifer in the coastal ridge area of eastern Palm Beach County generally are about 300 feet deep. Thiri beds of limestone or sandstone usually occur locally, but in the vicinity of Boca Raton and Delray Beach a bed of permeable sandstone about 100 feet in thickness underlies about 80 feet of sand. Confining beds, approximately 600 feet in thickness composed of sandy and clayey marl, underlie the water-table formations 1. See footnote on page 9.
PAGE 21
12 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY and prohibit a vertical movement of water. In some places the upper 100 feet of this confining unit contains some permeable sand and shell beds. Underlying the confining beds is a thick series of permeable limestones containing water under pressure. Yields and drawdowns have been recorded for various wells in the water-table aquifer along the coastal ridge. At Boca Raton 10-inch diameter open-hole wells ranging in depth from 175 to 215 feet will yield 500 gallons per minute (gpm) with drawdowns of 2 to 15 feet. A 10-inch gravel-packed well at Lake Worth, with a screen set between 54 and 136 feet, reportedly had a drawdown of 6 feet when pumped at 700 gpm. These yields and drawdowns indicate that the formations at Boca Raton and Lake Worth are similar in their ability to yield water to wells. Comparison of data from test wells in Lake Worth indicates a wide range of permeability for the shallow subsurface materials within a distance of a mile or less. One well drilled to a depth of 193 feet in the Lake Worth well field did not penetrate materials that would yield water without the use of a screen. In contrast, two test wells %Y4-mile and 1 mile, respectively, north of the well field, which were equipped with 5 feet of slotted casing at the bottom similar to the test well drilled to 193 feet, were pumped with the casing set at different depths between 40 and 95 feet. The pumping rates ranged from 25 to 120 gpm. Lesser drawdowns with larger yields were obtained between depths of 40 and 55 feet than at any other depths. Well data at Morrison Field, west of West Palm Beach, suggest a slightly lower permeability than at the areas cited above. A 30-inch gravel-packed well, screened from 125 to 145 feet, yielded 750 gpm with a drawdown of 78 feet in the pumped well and caused a lowering of 14 feet in the water table 50 feet away. The data on well capabilities and variation of materials in the water-table aquifer suggest that the hydrologic properties of the subsurface material differ along the coastal ridge. The only quantitative study made by pumping-test method was at Delray Beach where a 6-inch well was pumped at 300 gpm and the rate of water level decline was observed in adjacent wells. Results obtained from this test indicate a coefficient of transmissibility for the shallow water-bearing formations of 70,000 gallons per day per foot. This means that in 1 day 70,000 gallons of water will flow through a vetrical section of the aquifer 1 mile wide under a hydraulic gradient of 1 foot per mile.'
PAGE 22
REPORT-.OF INVES1TIGATIONS No. 13 13 The following table shows the declines in water level to be expected at selected distances from a pumped well after varying time intervals and for different rates of pumping. The computations are made with the assumption that pumping in each case is continuous at a constant rate and that no rainfall recharges the aquifer. DnAWDOWN, IN FiET Pumping rate 1 day 1 week 1 month (gpm) r = 250 r== 500 r-500 r = 1,000 r-=500 r = 1,000 500 0.4 0.0 0.7 0.1 1.7 0.7 1,000 .8 .11.4 .2 3.4 1.5 2,000 1.5 .1 2.7 .4 6.7 2.9 NoTEr = distance, in feet, from the discharging well. The hydrologic properties as determined for the aquifer at Delray Beach would be comparable to those of the sand and shell materials elsewhere in the county along the coastal-ridge area. Probably 200 to 300 gallons of water per day will flow through each mile of width of the aquifer for each foot of thickness, under a gradient of 1 foot per mile, at the prevailing temperature. (This numerical measure of the flow is called the coefficient of permeability and is equal to the transmissibility divided by the thickness of the aquifer.) This permeability is significantly lower than the 50,000 to 70,000 computed by Parker (1951, p. 824) for the highly permeable limestones of Dade County. These lower ranges of permeability make controls placed in the canals that discharge into the Intracoastal Waterway effective in maintaining high heads of water behind the dams. " The thin blanket .of gray or white surface sand in the sandy flatlands area is underlain by about 3 feet of rust colored sand or hard sandstone, or both. Beneath these materials, sands grade downward into shelly sands that in places contain irregular beds of shell and sandstone of higher permeabilities and will supply fair yields of water to wells. These materials probably extend to 200 feet in depth, where the sandy marls of the confining beds occur. The nature of the materials and water-table-fluctuation data indicate that the permeabilities are much lower than they are in most of Broward and Dade
PAGE 23
14 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY counties, making water control in the sandy flatlands more readily accomplished. The Everglades area in western Palm Beach County is covered by organic soil which is. underlain by about 60 feet of marl, limestone, shell marl, sand, and sandstone comprising the water-table aquifer. The aquifer is thicker in the eastern part of the Everglades than it is near the western edge. From Lake Okeechobee southward across the Everglades, however, the thickness of the water-table aquifer in Palm Beach County is relatively uniform (fig. 5). The water-table aquifer in the Everglades, as a unit, has a lower permeability than it has in the coastal-ridge area. An 8-inch diameter well near Okeelanta (fig. 2) screened in shell marl between 22 and 28 feet below the surface and having an open hole from 29 to 36 feet in soft limestone yielded 410 gpm with a drawdown of 18 feet. The 1to 2-foot bed of impermeable marl that generally lies immediately below the organic soil is a prime factor in making effective water control possible. Drainage and irrigation ditches that do not cut through the marl are more effective in controlling the water levels than those ditches that penetrate the more permeable underlying materials. However, water control in the Everglades area in either instance is more feasible than in most areas of Broward and Dade counties. CHEMICAL QUALITY OF WATER Water is commonly thought of as being fresh or salty. Rain, lakes, rivers, and underground waters that are suitable for drinking and other domestic uses and also for industrial and agricultural purposes are usually called fresh water. Salt waters include the ocean water and bodies of surface and ground waters that contain so much dissolved saline minerals that they are not satisfactory for human consumption or for almost any other use. The amounts of the several mineral substances dissolved in water are expressed as the number of parts of that substance contained in a million parts of water (in ppm) and may be thought of as the number of pounds of constituents in a million pounds of water. To the average user of water the most important characteristics are its hardness, taste, and color. Hardness is caused mainly by compounds of calcium and magnesium dissolved from soil and rock materials with which the water has been in contact. To the household user
PAGE 24
:"--oo 018 LIMESTONE BEDS 4 FORT THOMPSON FORMACTON) s , --. ------------., SHELL MARL, SAND, AND LENSES OF SANDSTONE (fORT rOMPSON FORMAT/ON) 0V SHELLY SANDS AND SHELL SANLSA .SEL SAD AD SNHLL MLARLS (C440o4#A,4rTcH ,'4R04 APPROXIMATE BASE OF WATER-TABLE (UNCONFINED) AQUIFER SILTY SANDS AND SANDY MARLS (TrNAM/AM FORMAT/ON) i __________________________ -2--Z6 miles Note: Maximum depth to top of Tamiomi formation, 65 feet P~GUR 5. Generalized north-to-south cross section, along U. S. Highway 27 in the Everglades area of Palm Beach County.
PAGE 25
16 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY of water the evidence of hardness is the quantity of soap or other detergent required to produce suds or lather. Water with hardness of less than 60 ppm is usually considered to be soft and treatment to remove hardness is seldom justified. Hardness of 60 to 120 ppm does not seriously interfere with the use of water for household or many industrial uses, but softening is frequently considered profitable. When the hardness is in excess of 120 ppm treatment for its reduction is usually desirable for most uses. The presence of certain mineral constituents in water, within reasonable limits, adds to the potability of a supply because they are responsible for its pleasant taste. If there were no minerals dissolved in water, it would have the flat taste of rain water. On the other hand, the concentration can be high enough to make the water unpalatable. Iron in excess of about one-half part per million imparts a taste that is objectionable to most people. Iron is also undesirable because of its tendency to produce rust stains. Some waters are colored owing to the presence of organic matter leached from plants, tree roots, and organic components of soil. Color is a common characteristic of both surface and ground waters in Palm Beach County. Color in excess of 10 is considered objectionable in public-supply waters from an esthetic point of view but otherwise has little deleterious effect unless caused by the presence of some harmful constituent. The platinum-cobalt method is considered as the standard for the determination of color in water, and the unit of color is that produced by 1 milligram of platinum in a liter of water. Data relating to quality of water in Palm Beach County are discussed in the sections on Ground Water and Surface Water. GROUND WATER WATER-TABLE CONDITIONS The water table in general roughly parallels the land-surface features. In Palm Beach County, differences in ground elevations are so slight that the water table is a relatively uniform surface with few undulations. From a map by Parker (1944, p. 13) showing surface drainage it may be inferred that before man's operations in the Everglades the water table probably sloped from Lake Okeechobee eastward toward the coastal ridge and southward through the Everglades. A ground-water divide existed in higher areas along the coastal ridge with the water table sloping to the Atlantic Ocean and toward the
PAGE 26
REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS No. 13 17 Everglades, The overflow from Lake Okeechobee drained southward across the Everglades more or less as sheet flow. Present drainage operations and the regulation of the water stages of Lake Okeechobee, generally between 12.6 and 15.6 feet above mean sea level, have produced a complex water-table pattern in the county. The resistance of peat to lateral ground-water seepage (Clayton, Neller, and Allison, 1942, p. 17) and the relatively impervious character of the marl, which overlies the shallow permeable waterbearing rocks, make water control economically feasible in the Everglades area of Palm Beach County. The average water level over a 7-year period (1945-51) for well 88 on the coastal ridge at Lake Worth was 7.9 feet above mean sea level (fig. 6) and the average water level in the area of well 99, at JAN. FEB. MAR. APR MAY JUN. JUL. AUG. SEP OCT. NOV. DEC. 14 12----/--/ / howi 6. Minimum, maximum and mean of the average monthly water leveln well 88 for ears of recordendinn 19 S -/ 'U / 56----/" "----------FrIGtuRE 6. Minimum, maximum and mean of the average monthly water levels in well 88 for 1 years of record ending in 1951.
PAGE 27
18 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY West Palm Beach, was probably about the same. These water levels reflect the effect of the control operated from 1945 through 1951 on the West Palm Beach Canal at West Palm Beach. The high groundwater levels maintained in this area would have been appreciably lower if the control had not been in operation. This effect is further illustrated by a water-table map of the Lake Worth area for November 11, 1945, (fig. 7) which shows relatively high ground-water levels close to the shoreline near the canal instead of swinging inland to parallel roughly the canal. The average water level for 1951, a slightly subnormal water year, in observation wells along the Range Line Canal (see fig. 2) at points I1 1 I / ' ' I \ I I I I I 4%) f,,,,,, i i il i j i„ / Nl Cd l -I' SX i P L A ION 7 /.0 I .& I .AT[*-TABLE CONTOUR S"I " I N O TO L. I / ii / l ./ / II _l S MIE \1 A 01 |
PAGE 28
REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS No. 13 19 west of Lake Worth and west of Delray Beach, was 2.6 feet below land surface datum (15.4 above msl). Ground-water levels west of the Range Line Canal have sloped toward the Everglades during part of each year of record. Records of water-level fluctuations to date, however, are not of sufficient length to support the conclusion that this occurs every year. Some support for the conclusion, however, is found in the fact that West Palm Beach, Hillsboro, North New River, and Miami canals during certain times will flow from water summits toward both Lake Okeechobee and the Atlantic Ocean. This is illustrated by water-level profiles in the West Palm Beach Canal on selected dates (fig. 9). Ground-water levels in shallow wells in Palm Beach County fluctuate in response to rainfall and pumpage from wells. Water-level fluctuations between high and low levels in selected wells in the county during 1951 ranged from 3.0 to 4.5 feet. The greatest fluctuation occurred on the coastal ridge in West Palm Beach and the minimum changes were recorded on the sandy flatlands north of the West Palm Beach Canal about 18 miles west of Lake Park. For 1951, a relatively dry year but one for which a greater distribution of water-level data is available, the range of the difference between the highest and lowest monthly average water levels was 3.0 feet along the coastal ridge at West Palm Beach; 2.5 feet in the sandy flatlands north of the West Palm Beach Canal; and at the western edge of the Lake Worth Drainage District along the Range Line Canal the range was only 0.9 foot. These records clearly show the damping effect of water control on ground-water levels. Figure 6 shows graphically the minimum, maximum, and the mean of the average monthly water levels at Lake Worth during the period 1945-1951. Figure 8 shows daily ground-water levels in a well at Lake Worth which has the longest continuous water-level record in the county. The graph shows the changes in water levels produced by drought and flood conditions. The difference between the maximum and minimum ground-water levels in this well since 1944 is 11.1 feet, with the highest level, 15.5 feet above msl, occurring in October 1948 and the lowest, 4.4 feet above msl, in June 1945 and August 1952. The highest stages in the main canals in the Everglades and across the sandy Sflatlands during the same period of record occurred in October 1947. Recharge to the ground water in this area is derived from local rain-
PAGE 29
20 FIORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY fall and by subsurface percolation from the canals into the permeable materials. Rainfall is the principal source of recharge. Inspection of rainfall records for periods ranging from 5 to 39 years indicates that the average annual rainfall is about 55 inches in the vicinity of Belle Glade, about 50 inches in the Everglades 10 to 20 miles to the south, and about 63 inches along the coastal ridge and in the eastern part of d)3rJlnS Oll 01 OJuuMJ# 4IJJ 'NOIIIJAJUI /__ _,_I-I -" ----_ -/-c, _ c ,-7 0 1 / 0. * -I -/ I -__ _ _ ___ __ _\__ C) _ 0 -----I ---a y I _ -_---U 9 " " " I ; , 9 * " " " 30Ai6l ION Wll0I 04 O,, i lt .M l "I 1 73 , -} ---^& ------i ----N ' -? ZZZL -zco \ \ .^ oT7 \ -< ___ ____ r __ __ __ _ ___ f __ __ _ __ --;aI--L 7.143 Fit ^ MUM OJ OUUPC HJ I'OJ
PAGE 30
REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS No. 13 21 the sandy flatlands. Rainfall along the coastal ridge and sandy flatlands percolates fairly rapidly into the aquifer. The quick response of the water table to local rainfall is shown by the rapid water-level rises on the hydrograph in figure 8. In some areas the water table rises to the land surface, and surface flow occurs. Some recharge directly from Lake Okeechobee may occur in that part of Palm Beach County bordering the lake. However, judging from the low permeability of the shallow water-bearing formations, from the slight difference in head between the lake surface and the water table, and from a study, by Ferguson (1943, pp. 21-22) and by others, of the surface water flowing into and out of the lake, the recharge is relatively small. Also, the presence of ground water with a relatively high chloride content adjacent to the lake which has a low chloride content suggests that there is not a free exchange of water below the lake and the shallow ground water. On the basis of the available data, Parker and others (1953) also concluded that groundwater seepage from Lake Okeechobee to the Everglades is very small. Discharge from the shallow ground-water reservoir is by evaporation from the land or water surfaces and by transpiration by plants in those areas where the water table is at or near the surface, by seepage into canals, pumping from shallow wells, and by outflow into the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway. Evapotranspiration from Lake Okeechobee and from its swampy shores is estimated by Ferguson (1943, p. 22) to be about 46 inches annually. Experiments at Belle Glade, as reported by Clayton, Neller, and Allison (1942, pp. 27-35) showed that the annual losses through transpiration and evaporation from saw grass in peat, sugarcane in peat, and bare peat soil were about 68, 49, and 40 inches, respectively. Parker and others (1953) computed a difference of 42.8 inches between the average runoff, measured as streamflow, and the rainfall for the Kissimmee-Lake Okeechobee-Everglades area, neglecting ground-water outflow from the area not reaching the stream channels. Thus, the evapotranspiration loss may be three-fourths, or more, of the average annual rainfall. The Hillsboro, North New River, and West Palm Beach canals annually discharge roughly about five times as much water into the ocean, as is received into the canals from Lake Okeechobee (for discharges see section on Surface Water). During periods when the Everglades are flooded, a part of this pickup is from overland flow. However, the major part of the pickup over the entire year is from ground-water storage either being pumped or flowing by gravity into the canals.
PAGE 31
22 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY The use of shallow well supplies is steadily increasing. It is estimated that the total withdrawal of ground water by wells in Palm Beach County during 1951 was about 8,000 millions of gallons, an average of a little more than 20 mgd. Ground water is utilized for public, domestic, industrial, fire fighting, and irrigation supplies. All of the municipal supplies along the coastal ridge, except at West Palm Beach, are obtained from wells. Several light industries use ground-water supplies in their operations. It is difficult to determine with accuracy the quantity of ground water used in Palm Beach County. In rural and agricultural areas practically no records are available, and the pumpage for the majority of the industrial plants is estimated. The following is a rough estimate, in millions of gallons, of ground water that was used in Palm Beach County in 1951: Municipal Industrial Rural and irrigation 3,000 2,000 3,000 It is not feasible to estimate the additional amount of water, pumped from canals for irrigation, that is derived by seepage from ground-water storage. Shallow ground water in the Lake Okeechobee area of the Everglades, according to Parker (1945, p. 531), is contaminated by sea water that gained access to the water-bearing beds when the sea covered this area during the Pleistocene epoch or "ice age." Salt water has not been completely flushed from the less permeable materials and the enclosed permeable lenslike deposits. The shelly sands, shell marls, and sandstones underlying the Everglades yield water that generally is highly mineralized. The more permeable beds of the water-table aquifer along the coast have long since been flushed of salt. In the Everglades area water obtained from limestone beds immediately underlying the organic soil and marl generally contains less than 100 ppm of chloride. However, in the sandy and shelly material beneath the limestone beds, chloride in the ground water is generally greater than 200 ppm (chloride much above 250 ppm is objectionable in public or domestic supplies). A test well near Pahokee yielded water containing 1,885 ppm of chloride at a depth of 45 feet. Stringfield (1933, p. 28), concerning mineralization of ground waters in the Everglades area bordering Lake Okeechobee, states: "It appears that although large quantities of ground water are ayail-
PAGE 32
REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS No. 13 23 able, the poor quality of the water offers little encouragement for the development of water supplies from either deep or shallow wells * * *." The chloride concentration of the ground water in the water-table aquifer decreases with distance from the Everglades toward the coastal'ridge, where the normal concentration is approximately 30 ppm. Salt-water ,encroachment along the coastal area of Palm Beach County is not yet a critical problem. All of the municipal supplies along the coastal ridge, except that from West Palm Beach, are obtained from wells located approximately 1 mile from the ocean or inland waterway. From the data available there is no indication of salt-water encroachment at a depth of 200 feet that far inland, One of the prime factors in the prevention of serious salt-water encroachment in this area is that only two canals cut across the coastal ridge and both have controls that maintain high heads; this results in higher ground-water levels closer to the shoreline than would otherwise exist. The average ground-water level along most of the coastal ridge, 1 mile inland, is probably about 7 feet above mean sea level. Most of the wells in Palm Beach County are developed either on and along the coastal ridge in the eastern part of the county or near Lake Okeechobee in the western part. For this reason the chemical quality of ground water will be discussed in two parts corresponding to the two major groupings of wells. Chemical analyses are available on samples collected from about 80 wells in a strip approximately 10 miles wide adjacent to the coast and about 35 miles long, extending from the Broward County line to the Martin County line. The wells range in depth from a few feet to more than 100 feet. Wells less ,than 50 feet deep, within 1 to 3 miles of the coast, usually yield relatively soft water-hardness less than 100 ppm-whereas shallow wells farther inland are likely to yield somewhat harder water. Water from wells more than 50 feet deep, both near the coast and farther inland, is usually harder than water from shallower wells. Chemical analyses are available for samples from 22 shallow wells in Palm Beach County in the vicinity of Lake Okeechobee. Almost all these wells are located in areas where the topsoil consists of several feet of muck and it is possible that some of the shallowest wells terminate in the muck. Most of them, however, terminate in the marl or limestone beneath the muck. Only three of the wells sampled are more than 50 feet deep.
PAGE 33
24 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Concentrations of dissolved solids in the 22 samples from the western part of the county were among the highest found in shallow ground water in southeastern Florida (table 2). Dissolved solids ranged from 557 to 5,670 ppm, and in 10 of the 22 samples dissolved solids exceeded 1,000 ppm. The maximum concentration of 5,670 ppm was found in a sample from a well 66 feet deep at Lake Harbor just south of Lake Okeechobee. Bicarbonate is the most characteristic anion in the water from practically all wells in the Lake Okeechobee area. In some samples sulfate and chloride were present in significant quantities, often several hundred parts per million. Ground water containing large amounts of dissolved solids, such as those sampled in western Palm Beach County, are undesirable for practically all purposes except possibly for irrigation. Even irrigation waters in which the ratio of sodium to all basic constituents is more than 60 to 70 percent may retard the growth of some crops under certain conditions, especially during dry periods. Those waters in which sodium is the predominent basic constituent cannot be economically improved by treatment processes in general use. Analyses of typical ground waters in eastern and western Palm Beach County are given in table 2. ARTESIAN CONDITIONS The piezometric or pressure surface at flowing wells in Palm Beach County slopes southeasterly from about 53 feet above mean sea level at Belle Glade to about 37 feet at West Palm Beach. The lack of heavy withdrawals from the Floridan aquifer in this county allows the artesian pressure to remain fairly constant; however, the water levels are affected by temporary barometric-pressure changes. So far as is known, discharge from the Floridan aquifer within Palm Beach County is mainly through wells which probably discharge less than 1 mgd. In addition, there probably is some leakage upward through the confining beds, but the amount is not known. The normally saline water from the Floridan aquifer in Palm Beach County is utilized by a few industries only for cooling purposes. The temperature of the water is about 73°F, which is from 4 to 6 degrees cooler than the shallow ground water. The savings in pumping costs and the temperature differential apparently compensate for the
PAGE 34
Table 2.-CHEMICAL ANALYSES OF GROUND WATER IN PALM BEACH COUNTY, IN PARTS PER MILLION. NONARTESIAN TemSpecile CalMagneSoliLm BicarSulChloNiDisWell'LOCATION 'Date of Depth peraColor Conductaice Iron ciam sium andPobonate fate ride trate solved Hardness Collection (feet). ture (Micronhos (Fe) (Ca) (Mg) tassium (HCOs) (SO4) (CI) (NOs) Solids s CaCOs (OF.) at 25*C.) (Na & K) 203 Lake Worth Public Supply......... Mar. 15, 1"41 135 ........ 40 437 0.15 74 3.1 20 220 20 25 4.0 287 197 262 Germantown Road at South Bend... April 17, 1941 20 74 220 322 .10 42 5.2 13 48 56 37 7.0 184 126 271 Military Trail and Atlantic Avenue.. Apr. 18, 1941 111 ........ 40 576 .10 108 6.3 18 335 2.1 40 2.0 342 295 287 0.3 mile West of Military Trail and 0.2 mile North of Lateral No. 23.. May 16, 1941 30 75 40 246 .12 12 8.5 18 4.0 69 21 .0 131 65 202 Belle Glade, State Prison Farm..... Sept. 22, 1,41 35 76 360 2,540 .05 114 83 371 776 295 340 13 1,600 626 412 Pahokee, State Highway 15, 1.6 miles South of Pahokee Water-Tower.. Sept. 10, 1941 18 .. .520 5,430 .05 237 128 862 849 661 1,140 ...... .3,450 1,118 419 State Highway 80, 0.4 mile East of North New River Canal.......... Sept. 22, 1341 60 ........ 60 1,380 .10 80 76 143 751 57 104 .1 830 512 M 137 State Highway 25, 3.5 miles South of Z Bolles Canal, along North New River Canal.................... June 5, 1942.. 16.5 75 360 1,130 .15 172 55 7.6 576 144 35 .2 698 655 ARTESIAN 203 Belle Glade, University of Florida Everglades Experiment Station.... Sept. 12, 1941 1,132 78 10 616 0.03 166 131 864 22 5.8 1,990 ...... 3,170 953 407 West Palm Beach, North Railroad Avenue and 4th Street........... Sept. 9, 1941 1,035 73 5 726 .10 127 161 1,207 194 449 2,110...... 4,150 979 --------------------------------------------------------------------------t^ u\y
PAGE 35
26 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY greater cost of a deep well and for the corrosive nature of the water. The quantity of artesian water used in the county is negligible as compared to the amount of shallow ground water used. Wells drilled into the artesian aquifer in Palm Beach County are usually about 1,000 feet deep. Properly developed wells 12 inches in diameter will yield a flow of 800 to 1,000 gallons per minute at the land surface. The first published discussion of artesian ground water in Palm Beach County is included in a report by Sellards and Gunter (1913). Analyses were given for only three wells along the coast. One is an artesian well in Palm Beach which contained 3,000 ppm of dissolved solids. This is typical of artesian waters in the area as shown by analyses made in the 1940's. Collins and Howard (1928) list an analysis for an artesian well 1,080 feet deep in West Palm Beach; the water had a chloride concentration of 2,345 ppm. This is typical of water from such depth in this area. Stringfield (1933, pp. 22-25) observed that the water from a well near Belle Glade was less mineralized between depths of 900 and 1,332 feet than it was between depths of 300 and 900 feet; water from the greater depths contained about 1,650 parts per million of chloride, whereas the water from the shallower depths in this well contained about 2,200 ppm. Artesian wells in the West Palm Beach area tap the same part of the Floridan aquifer as does the well near Belle Glade down to 900 feet; the quality of the water is similar (table 2). SURFACE WATER Surface-water information of two types is collected at particular points in a stream, lake, or other body of water. The first type pertains to the height or elevation of the water surface; the second, on streams only, to the discharge or amount of water flowing and the direction of flow. The points at which one or the other or both types of information are collected are called gaging stations. A record of the elevation of the water surface at a gaging station is obtained either by reading a gage at intervals of time or by the use of a water-level recorder. Gages that need to be read are generally enameled steel scales set vertically in the water. The zeros of gages are maintained at a known elevation, and are usually with reference to sea level. Water-level recorders actuated by float and clock mecha-
PAGE 36
REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS No. 13 27 nisms require setting to a reference gage but keep a continuous record on graph paper of the height of the water surface. The height of the water surface at the gage, measured in feet and hundredths of.feet above an arbitrary datum, may be converted to elevation above or below mean sea level. Mean sea level may be thought of as the average elevation of the water surface of the ocean at points along the shore. Flow is determined by measuring the speed of the current, and the width and depth of the stream. The rate of flow of a stream 1 foot wide and 1 foot deep with a current moving 1 foot each second would be 1 cubic foot per second. Cubic feet per second may be changed to million gallons per day by multiplying by 0.646, or to gallons per minute by multiplying by 449. The term cubic feet per second refers to the rate at which the water flows. The total amount of water which has flowed past a gaging station in a definite period of time may be recorded in acre-feet. One cubic foot per second flowing 1 day gives close to 2 acre-feet. An acre-foot of water would be the amount of water in a pond one foot deep with an area of exactly 1 acre. One acre-foot contains 43,560 cubic feet or 325,851 gallons. A list of gaging stations in Palm Beach County for which records are available is given in table 3. Records for gages not shown as being published in Geological Survey Water-Supply Papers are on file in the Ocala District, Surface Water Branch (see p. 53). Table 3 also gives pertinent data regarding the periods for which records are available, the maximum and minimum rates of flow, and the water elevations observed during the period of record. Localities at which these records were collected are shown on the map in figure 2. A summary of the more important records of streamflow in Palm Beach County is given in graphical and tabular form later in this report in the section on streamflow records. Data from the graphs shown in figures 11-21 have been used in the description of the flow in the canals given below. Although the graphs are based on percent of days when daily stage or discharge equaled or exceeded various amounts, this is so nearly equivalent to percent of time that the latter term has been used in the following text. The major surface waterways in Palm Beach County are the three artificial drainage channels: West Palm Beach, Hillsboro, and North New River canals. The Miami Canal cannot be considered
PAGE 37
Table --SURFACE-WATIR GAGING STATIONS IN PALM BEACH COUNTY THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 1951 Highest of Record4 Lowest of Record' No. Type eo Streams Canals, etc. Location Period of Record2 of Flow WaterElevation Flow WaterElevatioo Remarks Map' Reordd (cubic feet (feet above (cubic feet (feet above per second) sea level) per second) sea level) 1 Jupiter River ....... At Jupiter................ May, 1944, to Feb, 1946, April May, 1946, Aug., 194, to Sept., 1947, 2.37 -1.02 " June to Aug., 1948...... Ed .... Ed ... ...... (Oct. 18, 1944) .............. (Mar. 8, 1945) Affected by tide. 2 LT atchee Slough.. 5.2 miles west of Jupiter.... Aug., 1946, to Jan., 1952*. Fo 1,060 > (Oct. 9, 1947) .............. None at times .............. 3 ake Okeechobee.... Gages at Moore Haven, Clewitoo, Lake Harbor, Chosen, Canal Point, 20.1 10.3 Okehobee, yaa.. Oct, 1931, to ... Ed .t to ........ Ed .............. (Sept. 4, 1933) .............. (May 17, 1932) 4 West Palm Beach Northwest of dam at Canal Fdand 817 (to southCanal............ Point.................. Nov., 1939, to* ........ Ed east. March 18, 1948) and 1760 (to northwest, June 15, 18.54 10.00 Water elevation 8.76 feet 1942)....... (Oct. 23, 1947) .............. (June 17, 1948) June 22-25, 30, 1928. 5 do............. Southeast of dam at Canal 18.70 9.4 Point.................. May, 1940, to-..... Ed .............. (Oct. 12, 1947) ............. (May 24, 1944) 6 do............... At Big Mound Canal..... March, 1944, to -... Eo ............................. ...................... One of "West Palm Beach Canal Profile" gages. 7 do............... At 20-Mile Bend. ........ Mar., 1944, to July, 1947.. Eo July, 1947, to Oct., 1950.. Ed 17.48 8.33 Oct., 1950, to-..... Eo .............. (Oct.16,17,1948) .............. (June 30, 1944) do.
PAGE 38
Table 3.-SURFACE-WATER GAGING STATIONS IN PALM BEACH COUNTY THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 1951-Continued Highest of Record4 Lowest of Record4 No. Type on Streams, Canals, etc. Location Period of Record2 of Flow WaterElevation Flow WaterElevation Remarks Map Record3 (cubic feet (feet above (cubicfest (feet above per second) sea level) per second) sea level) 8 do............... 1. miles west of Loxahatchee ............ Mar., 1944, to --.... Eo ......................................... ............... "Profile" gage. 9 do............... At Loxahatchee........... July 1941, to Aug., 1942.. Eo 17.13 6.66 Flow 2,120 cfs measured Aug., 1942, to -..... Ed .............. (Oct. 12, 1947) .............. (Jan. 9, 1943) Oct. 12, 1947. 10 do............. mileseastofLoxahatchee Mar., 1944, to -.... Eo .............. .............. .............. "Profile" age. 11 do............... At Range Line Canal...... March, 1944, to --... Eo ..................................................... do. 12 do.............. 1.3 miles east of Range Line Canal............. do.............. ... Eo ............................................. ............. .... do. 13 do............... At Military Trail.......... Nov., 1939, to June, 1941.. Ed 14.24 6.04 c March, 1944, to -... Eo ............. (Oct. 12, 1947) .............. (July 6, 1949) do. 14 do.C.............. AtStub Canal............ do................... .. ................................... .... do. 15 West Palm Beach Above dam at West Palm Fd and 5,320 10.89 124 2.97 Highest elevation known Canal............ Beach.................. Nov., 1939, to ........ Ed (April 18, 1942) (Oct. 13, 1947) (May 1, 1945) (May 7, 1941) 13.20 ft. Oct. 23, 24, 1924, (Flow, 8,570 cfs.). Elevation 1.00 ft. Aug. 28, 1929. 16 Cross Canal........" At 20-Mile Bend.......... Mar., 1944, to June, 1947.. Eo June, 1947, to Oct., 1950.. Ed 17.3 10.05 Oct., 1950, to -..... o .............. (Oct. 13,1947) ............. (Sept. 27,1950) 17 Bange Line Canal... Above dam at Hillsboro 15.80 8.37 Canal.................. Jan, 1951, to... Ed .............. (Oct. 10,1951) .............. (Aug. 6, 1951)
PAGE 39
Table 3-SURFAC-WATIR GAGING STATIONS IN PALM BEACH COUNTY THROUGH DECZMBR 31, 151--Continued Highest of Record Lowest of Record' No. Type on Steams, Canals, etc. Location Period of Record2 of Flow WaterElevaio Flow WaterElevation Remarks ap i Record (cubic feet (feet above (cubic feet (feet above Si per second) sea level) per second) sea level) 18 do............... Above dam at West Palm 16.41 12.73 Beach Canal ............ Jan., 1951, to --. .... Ed ............ (Oct. 14, 1961) .............. (Oct. 24, 1951) 19 Equxizing Canal 4. 3.6 miles southweat of F 12.683 Delray Beach.......... Feb. 1951, to .... Ed .. ..... (Oct. 14, 1951) .............. Less than 5.4 20 do............... At State Highway 802 11.03 7.57 Elevation 14.14 ft. April 19, Bridge................. May, 1944, to Jan., 1946.. Ed .............. (Sept. 5. 145) .............. (June 30, 1944) 1942; 6.42 ft. July 5, 1932 21 do............... 1.3 miles northwest of 10.87 0 Lake Worth............ Jan., 1951, to --..... Ed .............. (Oct. 15, 1951) .............. Less than 5.87 22 Boynton Canal..... Above dam at Boynton Ed and Beach ................. July, 1941, to June, 1943'. Fd 1947*................... Fo Nov., 1949, to* ........ Foand 2.720 4.0 Ed (April 18, 1942) .............. (Nov. 30, 1942) .............. 23 Hilboro Canal..... At Hurricane Gate at Fo and 1,770 (to southLake Okeechobee........ Jan. to Sept., 1940*....... Ed east, March 13, 1940); 800 (to northwest, Sept. 6, 1940)..................... ........... .............. 24 do............... At Belle Glade............ Jan.to May, 1940*....... Fo 481 (to southMay, 1940, to Sept., 1942* Fo and east, Feb. 14, Ed 1940); Oct, 1942, to Sept., 1950* Fd and 289 (to northEd west, Sept.9, 16.94 10.50 Elevation 17.66 ft. S____________1940)....... (Feb. 14, 1940) .............. (Aug. 26, 1949) Sept. 26 to Oct. 1, 1926
PAGE 40
Table 3.-SURFACE-WATER GAGING STATIONS IN PALM BEACH COUNTY THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 1951-Continued Highest of Record4 Lowest of Record4 No. Type on Streams, Canals, etc. Location Period of Record2 of Flow WaterElevation Flow WaterElevation Remarks Mapi Record3 (cubic feet (feet above (cubic feet (feet above per second) sea level) per second) sea level) 25 do.............. 0.1 mile northwest of Fo and 15-.38 10.61 Elevation 16.7 ft. Cross Canal............ Oct., 1950, to ......... Ed .............. (Oct. 3, 1951) .............. (Dec. 14, 1951) Oct. 18, 1947. 26 Hillsboro Canal,,... At Shawano ............. Jan., 1929, to ..... Ed .............. 15.37 8.73 Flow 505 cfs measured (Oct.12,13,1947) .............. (May 4, 1945) Oct. 29, 1947. 27 do............... At Indian Run............ June, 1947, to April, 1950. 15.54 6.6 Flow 927 cfs measured June, 1950, to -..... Ed .............. (Oct. 12, 1947) .............. (Aug. 22, 1950) Aug. 20, 1947 28 do................ At. U.S. Highway 441 Nov., 1939, to June, 1941.. 14.87 4.00 Flow 1,860 cfs measured Bridge ................ Sept., 1947, to -..... Ed .............. (Oct ......................... (Aug.18,25,1949) Oct. 14, 1947 C 29 do............... Above dam 1.8 miles west None (Dec. 16, of Deerfield Beach Fd and 3,490 12.10 1939;Apr. 11, (Broward County)....... Nov., 1939, to * ....... Ed (Oct. 12, 1947) (Oct. 17, 1944) 1940; June18, 3.34 Elevation 0.96 ft. 1940)....... (Aug. 18, 1949) May 19 to June 12, 1927 30 do.............. Below dam 1.8 miles west z of Deerfield Beach 0 (Broward County)....... July, 1947, to -..... Ed ......................................... ...... ..... Affected by tide. 31 Indian Run......... Above dam at Hillsboro June, 1947, to April, 1950. 15.95 Canal .................. June, 1950, to-..... Ed .............. (Oct. 12, 1947) .............. Less than 9 32 North New River Canal............ North of dam at South Bay July, 1943, to -..... Ed ........................................................ 33 do............... South of dam at South Bay Nov., 1939, to * ....... Fd and 1,040 (to south, Ed Sept.30,1947) 445 (to north, 16.39 8.63 Elevation 20.56 ft. June 10, 17, , _1942) ....... (Oct.15,16,1947) .............. (July 6, 1949) July 27, 28, 1926. -
PAGE 41
Table 3.--SUACE-WATIR GAGING STATIONS IN PALM BEACH COUNTY THROUGH DECXMNBE 31, 1951-Continued Highest or Record4 Lowest of Record4 No. Type on Streams, Canals, etc. Location Period of Record2 of Flow WaterElevation Flow WaterElevation Remarks Map1 Record (cubic feet (feet above (cubic feet (feet above per second) sea level) per second) sea level) 34 do............... At Broward-Palm Beach 14.09 6.28 Flow 1 210 fs measured County Line............ Aug., 1946, to -.... Eo .............. (Oct. 13, 1947) .............. (June 7, 1948) Oct. 1, 2, 1948 35 Boile Caal......... At U.S. Highway 27 Bridge 1939-40, Oct., 1940, to 300 None Feb., 1944* ............ Fo (July 28, 1941) .............. (April 8, 1941) ............ 36 Miami Canal........ North of dam at Fo and 572 (to south, Lake Harbor........... Oct., 1939, to June, 1941*. Ed Jan. 6, 1942) July, 1941, to June, 19430. Fd and 808 (to north, Ed July 22, 1941) .............. .............. .............. 37 do............... South of dam at Lake 16.88 12.05 Elevation 18.56 ft. Harbor ................ April, 1946, to June, 1950.. Ed .............. (Oct. 13, 1947) .............. (April 3, 1948) Sept. 18, 1926; 10.05 ft. May 18, 1932 38 Levee 8 Canal...... 5 miles upstream from W est Palm Beach Canal.. Nov., 1951, to ..... Ed ............................ .............. ............. 39 Levee 40 Borrow 1 mile south of West Ditch............ Palm Beach Canal....... Nov., 1951, to -..... Ed ....................................................... 40 Everglades......... 17 miles west of Boynton Beach.................. Oct., 1951to -...... Ed .............. .............. ............................ 41 do............... 15 miles west of Delray Beach.................. Oct., 1951, to-..... Ed ....................................................... 42 do............... 0.5 mile northeast of Hillsboro Canal, 8 miles northwest of Elbow Bend ................. May, 1951, to-.... Ed ..................................... ..............
PAGE 42
Table 3.-SURFACE-WATER GAGING STATIONS IN PALM BEACH COUNTY THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 1951-Continued Highest of Record4 Lowest of Record4 No. Type on Streams, Canals, etc. Location Period of Record2 of Flow WaterElevation Flow WaterElevation Remarks Mapl Record8 (cubic feet (feet above (cubic feet (feet above per second) sea level) per second) sea level) 43 do............... 0 5 mile northeast of Hillsboro Canal, 4 miles northwest of Elbow Bend.............. ..... .M ay, 1951, to............ Ed .............. ........................ ... .... .. 44 do............... 0.5 mile southwest of Hillsboro Canal, 8 miles northwest of Elbow Bend ............. ,. June, 1951, to --... Ed ............................ ............ .............. 45 do.................. 0.5 mile southwest of Hills boro Canal, 3 miles northwest of Elbow Bend................. June, 1951, to..... F.d .............. ......................................... 46 do.............. .0.5 mile south of HillsC boro Canal, Z 3 miles east of Elbow Bend May, 1951, to--.... Ed ........................................................ 47 do............... 0.5 mile northeast of North New River Canal at Broward-Palm Beach _County Line........... June, 1951, to -.... Ed ....................................................... 1 See numbered points on map (Fig. 2) for location. 2 When no second date is shown, station was continued in operation after December 31, 1951. 3 Meaning of symbols: Fd-Record of flow each day; Fo-Occasional measurement of flow; Ed-Record of water elevation each day; Eo-Occasional measurement of water elevation. 4 Dates shown in parentheses. * Published in Surface Water Supply of the United States, Part 2 South Atlantic Slope, Eastern Gulf of Mexico Basin, U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper, issued annually. wA
PAGE 43
34 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY one of the major waterways in this county because it was dug to full depth for only a short distance south of Lake Okeechobee. These drainage canals follow roughly parallel southeasterly courses from Lake Okeechobee to the Atlantic Ocean. Natural streams are few and of relatively little importance in the county. The largest is the Loxahatchee River. The West Palm Beach Canal runs from Canal Point on the lake to just south of West Palm Beach. It is from 80 to 150 feet wide and the elevation of the bottom is from about 5 feet above sea level at Canal Point to about 5 feet below sea level just upstream from the lock and dam at Poinsettia Avenue (Dixie Highway), West Palm.Beach. The flow and elevation of the water surface in the canal are regulated by a hurricane gate at the lake, a lock and dam at Canal Point, and the lock and dam near West Palm Beach. The elevation of the land at Canal Point is about 15 feet above sea level. During the more than 10 years of record presented in this report, the water has been above the present ground surface elevation about 11 percent of the time (figure 12). The most serious flooding occurred in October 1947, when the highest water elevation reached was nearly 4 feet above ground surface. Proceeding down the West Palm Beach Canal, the land elevation gradually gets lower until, at 20-Mile Bend, it is about 13.5 feet above sea level. During the period July 1947 to October 1950, the water was above the land about 26 percent of the time, occasionaly to a depth of more than 3.5 feet. It should be realized that the 26 percent may be a higher than average percentage of time of flooding, inasmuch as the 2 flood years of 1947 and 1948 are included in the 3-year period of record. From 20-Mile Bend to Loxahatchee, the land surface rises to about 18.5 feet. At Loxahatchee, the water elevation in the canal has not been higher than a foot below ground surface since 1942, when the collection of records was started. At the lock and dam near West Palm Beach, the land is about 18 feet above sea level and according to the records the canal at this location has never overflowed its banks. Since November 1939, when the Geological Survey record began, the highest water elevation was 7 feet below the ground level. Records of the Everglades Drainage District show the water reached within 5 feet of ground level in 1924.
PAGE 44
REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS No. 13 35 The Hillsboro and North New River canals leave Lake Okeechobee in a single channel through a hurricane gate at Chosen, near Belle Glade. They divide into separate channels about 0.2 mile east of the hurricane gate. Hillsboro Canal empties into the sea near Deerfield Beach in Broward County. Its channel averages about 70 feet in width. The elevation of the canal bottom is about 4 feet above sea level at Belle Glade and about 7 feet below sea level just downstream from the lock and dam near Deerfield Beach. Between Shawano and Elbow Bend part of the channel was never dug to the depth originally planned. Regulation of flow and water elevation is provided by the hurricane gate at Lake Okeechobee, Structure S-39 (spillway) 14 miles upstream from the coast, and the lock and dam near Deerfield Beach. At Belle Glade, where the land is about 16.5 feet above sea level, the Hillsboro Canal has not overflowed its banks during the 11 years of record since 1940, except for a few days in 1940 and 1947 at which time there was less than a foot of water above ground. At the next gaging station downstream, Shawano, the land is about 13 feet above sea level. At this point, the land has been flooded about 25 percent of the time in the 10 years since January 1942. Depth of water on the land surface has been more than 3 feet at times. The 1947 flood was the highest flood during that period-the water was more than 19 feet above sea level. The record at Hillsboro Canal at Range Line Road covers only a 4-year period. During that time, however, no overflow has occurred, even during the flood of 1947. The ground elevation is about 15.5 feet above sea level. At the lock and dam on Hillsboro Canal near Deerfield Beach, the land is about 13.5 feet above sea level. The water elevation in the canal has not been above land surface since collection of records was started in 1939, although it was only 1.5 feet below ground surface in October 1944. After dividing from the Hillsboro Canal, the North New River Canal runs south about 10 miles, then southeastward, entering Broward County at a point about 30 miles west of Deerfield Beach. From that point, it flows south and east through Broward County to the coast at Fort Lauderdale. Its channel is about 70 to 100 feet wide and the elevation of the bottom varies from about 4 feet above sea
PAGE 45
36 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY level at South Bay to about sea level at the county line. Water elevation and flow are regulated by the hurricane gate, a lock and dam at South Bay, a dam at 26-Mile Bend in Broward County, about 8 miles southeast of the county line, Structure S-34 (culvert) at 20Mile Bend, and a 'lock and dam near Fort Lauderdale. At South Bay, where the land surface is about 14.5 feet above sea level, the water surface in the North New River Canal was above ground level about 7 percent of the time between 1939 and 1951. The maximum depth of water on the land surface during that period was about 2 feet. The flood of July 1926, before construction of protective levees around the south shore of Lake Okeechobee, was considerably higher than any flood recorded in the period 1939-51. During the 1926 flood the water level was about 20.6 feet above sea level. This water elevation does not represent 6 feet of water above ground in 1926, as might be supposed, inasmuch as the land surface at this place was 2 or 3 feet higher than it is now. Settling and oxidation of the muck soil are responsible for the lowering of this land surface that has occurred since 1926. The land elevation at 26-Mile Bend on the North New River Canal in Broward County is about 9 feet above sea level. As is to be expected in the undeveloped Everglades, the land here has been flooded about two-thirds of the time since 1941. For about 28 percent of the time the water was from 1 foot to more than 3 feet deep over the land. The Miami Canal would be equal to the other canals in importance if the channel were continuous. However, the canal was dug to full depth for only about 9 miles south from Lake Harbor. From that point it was dug only through the muck soil to the top of the underlying rock. Over the course of the years since this excavating was done, the banks in this section of the canal have slid and washed into the channel and vegetation has grown thickly so that the shallow part of the canal is now almost completely choked. Thus, in effect, water flows from the deep part of the channel directly into the open Everglades. Although flow in the canals is generally, from Lake Okeechobee toward the coast, the flow at times is reversed at the upper ends of each canal and movement of water is toward Lake Okeechobee, owing to various combinations of concentrated rainfall and pumping from cultivated lands into the channels. The flow was towards the lake in Hillsboro Canal at Belle Glade 17 percent of the time (194250), in North New River Canal at South Bay 2 percent of the time
PAGE 46
SIIILL. Z zL 0 -0 .,o = W 1V " 4,4 2 L&. Li.. 404 JULY 6, 1949 -z. _ ___, __ _ __ co _______0_ S11.8 19.5 25.1 26.6 28.3 31.0 32.3 36.6 38.2 41.4 20 M (014 12 4 0.1 11.8 19.5 25.1 26.6 28.3 31.0 32.3 36.6 38.2 41.4 DISTANCE,IN MILES,FROM LAKE OKEECHOBEE FIGuRE 9. Selected water-surface profiles on West Palm Beach Canal.
PAGE 47
38 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY (1942-50), and in West Palm Beach Canal at Canal Point 17 percent of the time (1939-50). Many laterals and pumps pour water into the canals for drainage at times of excessive rainfall and at other times take it out for irrigation, making the pattern of flow in the canals quite complicated. Figure 9, which shows the water-level profile in West Palm Beach Canal on selected dates, illustrates the variable flow conditions that sometimes occur. The profile for October 24, 1950, shows that water was then flowing toward Lake Okeechobee in the lake end of the canal and toward the ocean in the other end. There are times when there is no discernible flow and no net flow during whole days in either direction in varying reaches of these canals. Lake Okeechobee is the second largest fresh-water lake wholly within the boundaries of the United States, being exceeded in size only by Lake Michigan. Its area is about 700 square miles. It is relatively shallow, the bottom at the deepest part being about at sea level. Elevation of the lake surface is controlled by gates at the outlet channels, and the lake level is generally held between about 12.6 and 15.6 feet above sea level. The lake is fed principally by the Kissimmee River which enters from Okeechobee County. Smaller tributaries include Fisheating Creek, Harney Pond Canal, Indian Prairie Canal, Taylor Creek, and lesser streams from small drainage basins adjacent to the lake. The principal outlets, in addition to the canals mentioned above, are the Caloosahatchee River, in Glades County, and the St. Lucie Canal, in Martin County. The principal use of surface water in Palm Beach County is for the irrigation of truck crops and sugar cane. Clear and Mangonia lakes are the major sources of water supply for the City of West Palm Beach. Water for the cities of Canal Point, Clewiston, Belle Glade, Okeechobee, Pahokee, and South Bay is taken from Lake Okeechobee. Lake Okeechobee is fairly uniform in chemical composition throughout its area and from one season to another (see fig. 10). The average hardness is about 135 ppm. An unusual fact about the lake water is that the hardness is about 5 times greater than the hardness of the Kissimmee River and other tributary streams that contribute the greater part of the water to the lake. Although there are several possible explanations, it appears that the increased hardness of the lake water is caused by the inter-action of the inflowing soft water with the limestone bottom of the lake.
PAGE 48
REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS No. 13 39 The major drainage canals in Palm Beach County are subject to large changes in chemical quality. As they leave Lake Okeechobee they have water of about the same quality as the lake so long as water is released from the lake. Within a few miles, however, the quality is affected adversely by inflowing surface and ground water from the Everglades. The amount of dissolved minerals increases rapidly from about 185 ppm in Lake Okeechobee to over 600 ppm ý)1OKEECHOBEE ^t \w ^ -2-O I & -S --* 0\ 0\MAYACA ? * 00 -, MAYACA* 00 00 * --0 , CANAL POINT MOORE 0 EXPLANATION CHOSEN * SURVEY OF JULY 30-31, 1940 0 SURVEY OF MARCH 11-12, 1941LAKE S SAMPLING POINTS COMMON TO BOTH SURVEYS HARBOR -p M LAKE GAGE SCALE IN MILES * 0 5 .10 FIGURE 10. Map of Lake Okeechobee area showing gaging station and quality-of-water sampling stations.
PAGE 49
40 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY in some locations in the canals. Hardness and color also increase rapidly with distance from the lake. Water in the West Palm Beach, Hillsboro, and North New River canals, except close to Lake Okeechobee as noted above, is moderately to excessively hard and is highly colored during most seasons of the year. The color is generally higher during the rainy season when most of the runoff is derived from water that flows over or through the muck soils. The Hillsboro Canal is typical. During an 18-month period of intensive study at Shawano (fig. 2) it was observed that the hardness ranged from 164 to 418 ppm. During the same period the total content of dissolved minerals ranged from 286 to 863 ppm and color from 35 to 560. Color in excess of 10 is considered undesirable for public water supplies. For many years the public water supply for Belle Glade was obtained from the Hillsboro Canal. The chemical quality was so highly variable that the treatment plant was unable to cope with the sudden and large changes in concentration of dissolved minerals and in the color of the water. The situation was so unsatisfactory that the canal was abandoned in favor of Lake Okeechobee as a source of supply. The quality of water in the drainage canals in Palm Beach County apparently has no adverse effect on the use of the water for irrigation, although there are practical limits above which the concentration of dissolved minerals interferes with plant growth. The canal waters would have to be treated for most industrial uses. However, the treatment would be variable and expensive, and probably not economically feasible so long as water of better quality can be obtained at moderate cost. The only other surface waters of any consequence in the county are the small lakes between the Everglades and the coastal ridge. Clear Lake and Lake Mangonia are used as the source of the public supply of Palm Beach and West Palm Beach. These waters are very soft-hardness averages about 20 to 25 ppm. The water is treated to overcome its tendency to corrode plumbing. Lake Osborne varies in chemical quality with the seasons of the year. Based on a limited study of the lake, the hardness ranges from about 125 to 240 ppm. In summary, the chemical quality of the Everglades canals is highly variable. The water is satisfactory for irrigation but unsatisfactory for industrial or municipal use without costly treatment. Lake Okeechobee provides a source of hard but otherwise good quality water suitable for most beneficial uses. Two of the small coastal lakes are sources of very soft water and are used for public
PAGE 50
Table 4.-CHEMICAL ANALYSES OF SURFACE WATER IN PALM BEACH COUNTY, IN PARTS PER MILLION Date of Collection 0 0 Lake Okeechobee Ju 30, 1940 ........... ........ 40 ........ 376 ........ ........ 41 11 22 13 27 38 .... .0.4 207 148 arch 11, 1941...... ........ 50 ........ 337 ........ ........ 38 11 17 121 29 33 ........ .4 188 140 December 5, 1950........ 66 104 7.3 313 7.1 0.01 34 7.3 16 1.7 117 21 25 0.1 1.4 202 115 April 6, 1951............. 73 40 8.1 400 7.8 .02 36 8.6 22 1.6 117 32 34 .2 1.2 266 125 West Palm Beach Canal at West Palm Beach April2,1941............. ........ 140 ........ 891 ........ ........ 67 25 90 259 69 127 ........ 4.0 510 270 October 23, 1941 ......... ........ 160 ........ 241 ........ ........ 27 5.8 14 102 7.0 22 ........ .2 76 91 June 4, 1942............. ........ 140 ........ 180 ........ ........ 19 3.6 15 61 14 22 ........ .2 104 62 November 11, 1942....... ........ 150 ........ 1,010 ........ ........ 67 25 103 252 67 153 ........ 1.6 541 270 October 7, 1943.......... ........ 160 ........ 294 ........ ........ 34 6.6 12 98 10 33 ........ .3 144 112 Deember 31, 194 ................ 9 ........ 1,070 ........ ........ 62 22 132 252 58 188 ........ .8 587 245 M ay 31, 1944........... ........ 30 ........ 510 ...... .......... 53 12 35 178 28 58 ........ .4 274 182 July 1,1944 ............. ........ 70 ........ 1,050 0 ..133 272 49 175 .......32 .2 671 232 West Palm Beach Canal at Loxahatchee July 5-9,1951........... ........ 260 7.7 1,110 24 0.00 82 22 124 4.0 328 66 162 0.3 4.8 753 295 October 5-20, 1951.............. 110 7.0 267 5.2 .22 32 2.2 18 .9 96 8 29 .2 1.3 178 89 _ _
PAGE 51
4Table 4.-CHEMICAL ANALYSES OF SURFACE WATER IN PALM BEACH COUNTY, IN PARTS PER MILLION-Continued '" -..-_I'ate of ('oUllectiou -__ ... -• , -_ --.--Hillsboro Canal at Deerfield Beach May 21, 1941......... ........ 200 ....... 40 ...... 58 18 96 256 21 139 05 45 21 August 22, 1941......... ......... 240 ...... .344 ... ..32 9.2 26 131 6. 6 42 .. ...11 1I.January 22, 1942........ ........ 100 178 .............. 22 1.6 1 69 6.4 20 ....1 2 August 7, 1942................... 40 ..... 994 ........ ..72. 23 98 314 1 21 148 ..2 .517 274 June 2. 1943........... ........... 20 1,0 ...... 470 .! 106 27 182 384 52 285 ..0 11 376 November 30, 1943....... .... .190 ........113 ...25 7.4 12 72 56 38 .2 124 93 January 31, 1944 .............. 120 ........ 794 ... ... ... .70 15 74 242 23 123 .. ..... .425 236 May 31, 1944 ............. ........ 0 .. 1,310 ..92 26 147 388 34 216 .2 70 336 Hillsboro Canal at Shawano n SI I= June 1-10, 1951.......... ........ 45 7.6 458 11 0.05 46 12 30 1.7 162 36 44 0.3 1.3 286 1i54 August 21-31, 1951....... ........ 280 7.8 1,170 28 .00 105 38 113 4.5 502 52 136 1.0 3.2 863 413 Miami Canal at Lake Harbor December 18, 1939........ ...... .. ........5 ..... ........ 2 .45 13 22 152 32 39 .226 166 July 28, 1940............ ........ 190 ........ 666 ........ ........ .. ..231 10 50 ........... ... .. 2 3 March 10, 1941................... 200 ........ 351 ........ ......... 43 11 8.3 152 23 26 ....... 0.4 270 168 October 26 19 1......... ........ 280 ....... 14 ........ ........ 28 5.2 2.9 4 5.8 10 ..... .6 9 91 May 29, 1945......... ........ 180 ........ 1,470 ........ ........ 168 39 99 5fi8 69 178 ........ 83 841 580 September 23, 1945...... ........ 190 ........ 418 ............... 65 11 12 186 57 14 ........ .4 251 207
PAGE 52
REPORT OF INVESrIGArIONS No. 13 43 supply purposes. The water in a third lake is moderately hard but otherwise of good quality. Results of chemical analyses of surface waters in Palm Beach County are given in table 4. Locations of sampling points at which samples were collected during a study of water in Lake Okeechobee are given in figure 10. STREAMFLOW RECORDS Summaries of several of the more important gaging-station records in Palm Beach County are given in tables 5-10 which follow. Table 5 shows a summary of tide heights for Jupiter River near Jupiter as an example of the effect of Atlantic Ocean tides on water levels in the ocean ends of waterways draining into the sea. Tables 6-10 show the volumes of water passing selected gaging stations each month and year during the period of record for each station through 1950. A casual examination of these tables reveals the large variations in flow during the months of a single year as well as those during the same month in the several years. Data of this type are indispensable in determining the adequacy of available water supplies for irrigation and other needs. Although tables, of monthly flow like those reproduced in this report may be used in making rough appraisals of volumes of water to be discharged during flood times, records of daily flow are of much greater value. Records of daily flow should be used in connection with the design of drainage channels for flood control to determine the total volumes of water to be handled during storm periods and the maximum rates at which the water must be carried in the channels. Other uses of streamflow data, monthly or daily, are numerous. The records collected in Palm Beach County are available in U. S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Papers or on file in U. S. Geological Survey offices at Ocala and Miami, Florida. Examples of one way in which water-level and streamflow data are analyzed graphically are shown by the diagrams in figures 11-21 which follow immediately after the tables of discharge data discussed above. These diagrams were used in making the analyses pertaining to percentage of time given in the section on Surface Water. These diagrams show the percentage of time during the period of record that the water level (figs. 11-16) or discharge (figs. 17-21) equaled or exceeded any given value. Extremely high water levels or high
PAGE 53
44 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY rates of flood were equaled or exceeded during only a small percentage of the time, whereas extremely low water levels or rates of flow were equaled or exceeded during a large percentage of the time. The two types of curves shown in figures 11-21 are called stageduration and flow-duration curves. Stage-duration curves show the percentage of the time the water elevation equaled or exceeded any given stage. For drainage channels like those in Palm Beach County stage-duration curves (figures 11-16) have many uses. When water levels in the canals are compared with land-surface elevations these curves may be used to estimate the percentage of time adjacent lands may be covered with water or to estimate the percentage of time that water levels may be high enough to waterlog the land. Thus these curves indicate, to some degree at least, the acuteness of flood-control problems in particular areas. These curves may be used also to estimate, for farming areas immediately adjacent to gaging station sites, the percentage of the time that water levels may be lower than is best for soil-moisture supply. These curves, which represent past occurrences, can be used to estimate future occurrences to the extent that water conditions during the period of record are a fair sample of conditions over a long period of time. Flow-duration curves (figures 17-21) may be used to study the flow characteristics of a stream. For example, a flat curve shows that the variation in flow is relatively small during most of the time. This is characteristic of streams that have large surface or ground storage from which to draw water and are the more dependable streams for water supply.
PAGE 54
REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS No. 13 45 Table 5.-TIDE-HEIGHT RECORDS FOR JUPITER RIVER AT JUPITER (Negative Figures Indicate Elevation below Mean Sea Level) Water Elevation in Feot Above Mean Sea Level Average Period Range Highest Lowest Average of Tide High Tide Low Tide Average Low Tide (Feet) 1044 July................ ........ 0.8 -0.5 0.21 -0.04 0.49 August....................... .8 -.5 .09 -.10 .50 September1...................... 1.2 -.2 .48 .22 .52 October......................... 2.4 0 1.01 .78 .48 November ...................... 1 4 -.1 .83 .59 .48 Decembert...................... 1 4 -8 .26 .04 .40 1945 January ................. ... ..7 -.5 .07 -.18 .50 February........... ...... ..... .2 -.8 -.33 -.55 .44 March........... .......... .... .2 -1.0 -.44 -.04 .42 April .................... ... ... .. -.0 -.05 -27 .44 May..................... ..... .8 -.5 0.00 -.24 .49 Jun.................... ..... .0 -.8 -.10 -.42 .46 July1........................... .3 -.6 -.18 -.41 .46 August.................. ....... .7 -.5 .04 -.18 .40 September ............... ...... 1.1 -.1 .46 .23 .46 October ...... ....... ....... .2.2 .3 1 15 .94 .42 November..... ................ .1.7 0 .92 .70 .44 December. ................ ....... 1.1 -.3 .43 .19 .46 1040 January..................... .8 -.7 -.01 -.24 .46 February1 ....................... .-. -.05 -.27 .44 March 1.................. .......-.5 .21 -.03 .48 May1........................... 5 --8 -.13 -.36 .46 September ............. ......... 1.5 .4 .88 .600 .45 October................ ......... .. .2,1 .4 1.26 1.03 .45 November .. ............... .. ...1.07 .85 .44 December............... ...... 2.4 -.3 .96 .74 .44 1947 January.......................... ... .8 -.6 .09 -.15 .49 February1...................... 1.3 -.5 .29 .05 .47 March........................... 1.2 -.4 .45 .22 .47 April ....................... .7 -.8 .09 -.15 .49 May........ ............ ... .. .8 -.0 .08 -.17 .51 June......................... 1.5 , -.1 .66 .44 .45 July...... ........ .... ....... .1.3 -.4 .61 .39 .44 August ......................... 1.4 -.5 .38 -.03 .81 1048 July1..... .. . . ......... ...... ..... 1.0 -.6 .18 -.22 .80 July, 1944, to July, 1947 (33 months).. 2.4 -1.0 .34 .11 .46 SRecord for month not complete.
PAGE 55
4Table &6-MONTHLY AND ANNUAL FLOW OF WEST PALM BEACH CANAL AT CANAL POINT (NORTHWEST OF DAM), IN THOUSANDS OF ACRE-FEET (Negative Figures Indicate Flow to Northwest) Year January February March April May June July August September ctber No er D ber Annual 19 .......... ....... ...... ...... .. ......... ...... ..... ........... ......... ....... ... .............. 19.8 ........... 1940................ 22.59 21.35 17.19 18.96 28.98 7.47 13.32 -8.17 -17.17 ' 19.71 16.70 23.31 164.2 > 0 141................. -.84 -4.47 8.59 7.65 12.29 23.90 -29.36 12.50 -12.71 -14.93 20.66 22.31 45.60 B 1942............... 23.09 20.82 10.88 3.08 19.68 -67.24 -9.57 23.58 6.31 25.44 12.36 13.66 82.03 0 1943................ 15.16 15.71 14.16 16.92 16.95 11.25 -13.86 1.92 -6.02 4.26 16.52 11.16 104.1 1944,.............. 15.33 1.79 s15.65 12.60 20.08 9.53 13.29 8.72 857 -17.67 12.20 23.57 138.7 1945............ ... 20.15 16.08 21.43 19.59 21.03 9.12 -24.94 -11.34 -48.36 -2.04 20.07 26.38 67.23 1946................ 25.44 23.47 24.66 24.25 22.29 16.92 11.64 -.54 -17.66 20.52 .05 22.62 173.7 CA 1947................ 23.36 21.87 -.38 4.50 14.35 -13.86 -57.75 -27.30 -18.42 ........... ...................... -53.63 1948 ........................... 22.13 34.01 26.93 24.39 23.47 22.40 -.82 -27.66 -7.41 14.42 38.85 170.7 19.................. .... 35.05 35.37 37.48 33.71 36.36 15.43 4.01 -5.01 -25.63 -6.39 26.05 22.63 209.1 1950................. 4.47 26.17 32.30 31.54 33.27 30.06 24.29 22.21 19.15 ............................................ Aveage............. 16.71 19.57 19.63 18.16 22.70 6.00 -4.23 1.43 -12.69 2.15 13.90 20.39 110.18 Eut............. 35.05 35.37 37.48 33.71 36.36 30.08 24.29 23.58 19.15 25.44 26.05 38.85 209.1 Lowest ............ -.84 -4.47 -.38 3.08 12 29 -67.24 -57.75 -27.30 -48.36 -17.67 ........... ........... -53.63 _____ '*j ___ ___ ________ ___ ______ ____________ ___ _______ x
PAGE 56
Table 7.-MONTHLY AND ANNUAL FLOW OF WEST PALM BEACH CANAL AT WEST PALM BEACH, IN THOUSANDS OF ACRE-FEET Year January February March April May June July August September October November December Annual 1939........ ............. ................................. ....... ..... ........ .. ........... 52.22 42.08 ........... 1940............... 45.95 44.22 46.58 47.14 41.78 78.00 60.17 102.4 161.7 88.46 69.52 68.22 854.1 41 ,............... 119.4 94.21 84.36 89.68 62.63 46.06 136.4 93.06 131.3 132.3 71.20 49.13 1,110 1942 ................ 52.27 39.90 56.47 117.0 60.96 169.9 90.25 59.68 77.81 56.46 34.89 26.77 842.4 1943............... 25.46 23.06 30.10 22.75 21.53 22.98 53.50 51.51 68.32 89.38 58.07 35.08 501.7 194................ 29.42 21.89 25.55 21.87 26.38 23.03 27.37 48.35 48.57 91.99 58.68 35.58 458.7 S1945 ........... 34.70 21.43 20.06 11.65 12.93 28.06 47.72 44.84 122.9 128.9 64.66 37.11 575. 0 °:, ^ .... ' " .... * ' * 1946 ................ 39.16 24.77 32.30 24.42 51.57 68.79 68.52 65.96 128.1 79.18 97.25 60.64 740.7 947................ 37.49 35.26 103.4 56.20 28.69 123.5 182.0 143.6 169.2 239.1 154.0 120.6 1,393 1948............... 96.20 56.08 48.22 38.02 42.80 32.93 41.42 82.45 149.9 190.9 78.16 49.91 907.0 1949................ 37.99 29.64 30.49 29.64 34.56 53.92 55.12 74.14 99.09 84.69 46.66 54.59 630.5 r 1950................ 87.49 32.19 31.92 29.05 26:77 28.36 42.19 56.80 66.71 123.7 83.29 38.52 647.0 Z 1951................ 27.37 31.44 19.45 33.00 34.56 40.99 66.97 65.22 70.02 ........................................... Average.............. 52.75 37.84 44.07 43.37 37.10 59.71 72.63 74.00 107.8 118.6 72.38 51.52 787.2 Higbest ............. 119.5 94.21 103.4 117.0 62.63 169.9 182.0 143.6 169.2 239.1 154.0 120.6 1,393 Lowest.............. 25.46 21.43 19.45 11.65 12.93 22.98 27.37 44.84 48.57 56.46 34.89 26.77 458.7 ; '.4 ,
PAGE 57
Table 8.-MONTHLY AND ANNUAL FLOW OF HILLSTORO CANAL AT BtLLX GLADE, IN THOUSANDS OF ACRE-FEET (Negative Figures Indicate Flow to Northwest) Year January February March April May June July August September October November December Annual 1940................ 16.97 16.51 19.62 17.32 21.77 16.96 14.82 9.47 -0.01 14.15 17.65 18.45 183.7 1941 ................ 10.38 3.03 9.18 6.23 7.35 7.98 -5.15 3.68 3.42 -.14 8.68 11.14 65.78 1942................ 12.26 10.20 8.29 5.53 6.92 -10.35 -6.74 3.23 -.34 9.67 9.40 9.54 57.61 1943 ............... 9.93 8.98 9.23 7.94 6.13 3.84 2.53 5.31 3.87 7.42 7.15 5.23 77.56 1944................ 6.19 7.93 9.25 9.08 6.51 5.60 4.75 -1.77 4.13 -.89 9.68 12.39 72.67 1945................ 10.92 9.41 8.53 5.93 4.36 .48 -8.04 -3.75 -1.17 5.32 2.46 8.74 43.19 1946................. 8.78 11.82 12.56 12.25 7.35 6.50 6.02 6.75 1.68 1.08 -2.82 -4.25 67.72 1947................ 5.00 7.10 2.95 -.01 5.28 3.39 -.27 6.26 3.20 -7.07 -10.55 -.08 15.20 1948 ............... .38 7.84 15.97 11.86 18.39 16.86 11.61 9.14 3.53 -1.10 .25 14.45 109.2 1949............... 17.20 16.12 20.92 13.54 13.76 14.46 8.44 .10 -7.56 .85 8.38 12.20 118.4 1950 ................ -.62 13.45 16.62 15.43 15.84 15.53 14.38 12.52 8.16 ............................................ Average ............ 8.85 10.22 12.10 9.55 10.33 7.39 3.85 4.63 1..72 2.93 5.03 8.78 81.10 Highest............. 17.20 16.51 20.92 17.32 .. 21.77 16.96 14.82 12.52 8.16 14.15 17.65 18.45 183.7 Lowest....... ........ -.62 3.03 2.95 -.01 4.36 -10.35 -8.04 -3.75 -7.56 -7.07 -10.55 -4.25 15.20
PAGE 58
Table 9.-MONTHLY AND ANNUAL FLOW OF HILLSBORO CANAL NEAR DEERFIELD BEACH (ABOVE DAM), IN THOUSANDS OF ACRE-FEET Year January February March April May June July August September October November December Annual 1939. ............... .......... ............ .... ....... ......... .................. .... ...................... ........... ........... 52.96 12.94 ........... 1940................. 18.07 17.87 13.23 13.69 3.40 26.07 13.35 24.84 92.47 53.21 .36.16 29.13 341.5 .141................ 44.87 57.63 38.57 47.68 20.72 29.78 94.76 58.64 60.31 79.74 36.03 14.17 582.9 ............... 40.89 16.52 20.31 52.58 46.89 103.4 .55.58 20.69 34.75 13.86 4.17 4.17 413.8 1943................ 2.84 2.12 1.94 2.00 2.13 2.20 3.13 4.21 16.78 25.23 10.55 10.00 83.13 .1944 ................ 4.67 2.60 1.25 1.36 1.44 1.46 1.74 18.23 15.89. 32.22 12.60 3.53 96.99 1945.... ............. 4.62 1.33 1.01 .30 .40 .48 2.72 5.05 27.83 51.52 44.45 9.71 149.4 1946............... 12.94 .56 .51 .39 5.94 12.96 15.64 13.10 36.51 30.76 28.80 15.04 173.2 > 1947................ 9.01 5.82 36.28 16.51 8.18 62.66 94.89 89.91 104.7 137.0 87.61 75.95 728.5 0 1948............... 59.04 27.29 13.06 16.36 17.59 17.52 23.94 48.28 82.28 113.4 56.57 18.85 494.2 2 1949............... 8.81 * 5.11 4.34 11.14 8.23 23.93 26.19 38.45 63.76 64.41 34.41 34.70 323.5 1950 ............... 61.01 11.70 7.79 13.48 14.10 14.48 19.32 26.39 20.31 63.83 37.53 14.90 304.8 1951................ 8,34 12.59 3.22 13.45 7.59 12.05 30.52 45.15 46.96 ............................................ Average............. 22.93 13.43 11.79 15.74 11.38 25.58 31.82 32.74 50.21 60.47 36.82 20.26 335.6 Highest ............. 61.01 57.63 38.57 52.58 46.89 103.4 94.89 89.91 104.7 137.0 87.61 75.95 728.5 Lowest............. 2.84 .56 .51 .30 .40 .48 1.74 4.21 15.89 13.86 4.17 3.53 83.13
PAGE 59
Table 10.-MONTHLY AND ANNUAL PLOW OF NORTH NEW RIVER CANAL AT SOUTH BAY (SOUTH OF DAM), IN THOUSANDS OF ACIRE-FET (Negative PFgures Indicate Flow to North) Year January February March April May June July August September October November December Annual 109 ................ ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... 8.06 ........... 140................ 8.92 5.80 3.42 2.61 6.89 7.74 9.28 9.47 6.72 4.77 11.09 8.90 85.61 141................. 8.20 6.09 7.27 5.66 7.22 1.41 -12.34 2.64 5.08 6.90 5.23 8.08 51.44 t94................ 5.16 4.72 6.06 4.94 2.72 -10.93 -.19 10.58 5.67 10.24 11.03 12.29 62.29 194................ 8.80 8.72 9.40 7.23 5.84 3.42 4.76 5.33 6.18 10.91 11.60 10.56 92.75 144 ................ 10.41 8.74 8.45 5.86 8.77 3.21 7.63 1.04 1.44 3.80 4.91 4.84 69.10 1945................ 11.22 7.53 4.84 7.99 5.92 4.32 1.53 5.60 3.75 3.14 3.33 3.75 62.89 1946................ 4.55 5.77 7.75 11.60 11.73 5.71 5.41 5.10 5.12 3.94 5.27 11.33 83.28 1947................ 11.46 10.23 6.71 3.67 6.81 6.27 2.44 .78 19.66 24.64 17.06 4.83 114.6 1948................ 6.07 10.02 21.51 22.02 23.88 14.77 17.18 19.75 11.05 9.66 -.02 5.19 161.1 1949................ 22.94 26.11 35.03 26.98 19.39 14.66 8.65 9.85 14.54 7.93 18.97 25.01 230.1 1950 ............... 14.16 23.70 25.84 26.00 26.32 26.67 27.49 19.83 15.99 ...................... ........... ........... Average............ 10.17 10.68 12.39 11.32 11.41 7.02 6.53 8.18 8.65 8.59 8.85 9.35 101.3 Highest ............. 22.94 26.11 35.03 26.98 26.32 26.67 27.49 19.83 19.66 24.64 18.97 25.01 230.1 Lowest.............. 4.55 4.72 3.42 2.61 2.72 -10.93 -12.34 .78 1.44 3.14 -.02 3.75 51.44
PAGE 60
19 <17" 0 10 w \ 11 O 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 I00 11ion rvfor Lake Okhobeeforeriod October 1941 to September 1950 (3,287 days). 4< 17 _ __-------------------------------016 §16 ---\-------------------------------I----T -----§ S12 -----0. 10 20 30 40 50 60 .70 80 90 100 PERCENT OF DAYS WATER ELEVATION EQUALED OR EXCEEDED THAT SHOWN FIGURE 11. Stage duration curve for Lake Okeechobee for period October 1941 to September 1950 (3,287 days). *C
PAGE 61
-J» is Conar Point ( S.Eof dam),June 1940 to Set. 1950 (3,774 days) Lond-surface elevation 15.5 ft above sea level -16 West Palm eachnd, July 1947 to Oct1939 to Sept. 1950 ( ,066 daysdays w SLoLand-sndsurfurface elevation 1elev8 fion t abo ve sea level 2 Dec._I_ 195_ _409Ida--w Lnd-surface elevation 18 ft aboe sea level I 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 PERCENT OF DAYS WATER ELEVATION EQUALED OR EXCEEDED THAT SHOWN FIGURE 12. Stage-duration curves for West Palm Beach Canal.
PAGE 62
18 17 w .J 0 15 o , 5 ----,----------,,------------Li 14 Lond-surface elevation 13.5ft above sea level z _a I 10 o 1,5 ----------_ _ -------------j -----_ _ _ I0 ---0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 .80 90 100 PERCENT OF DAYS WATER ELEVATION EQUALED OR EXCEEDED THAT SHOWN FIGuRE 13. Stage-duration curve for Cross Canal at 20-Mile Bend (above dam) for period August 1947 to September 1950 (1,157 days).
PAGE 63
-Belle Glade, June 1940 to Sept 1950 ( 3,774 days) Land-surface elevation 16.5 ft above sea level > /-Shawano, Jan. 1942 to Dec. 1951 ( 3,652 days ) .j Land-surface elevation 13 ft above sea le.vel < 14 -,-w -J 02 *------------I i > F-GLand-surface elevation 15.5 ft above'sea level 2 1 i I z w -AJ 6 Range Line Road, Oct. 1947 to Dec. 1951 (1,553 days) Land-surface elevation 15.5 ft obove seo level Deerfield Beach (above dam). Nov. 1939 to Sept. 1951 (41352 days) Land-surface elevation 13.5 ft above sea level 0 10 20 30 40 50 60. 70 80 90 I100 PERCENT OF DAYS WATER ELEVATION EQUALED OR EXCEEDED THAT SHOWN Fnrorm 14. Stage-duration curves for Hillsboro Canal.
PAGE 64
16I. W> Land-surface elevation 14.5 ft above sea level -J o10 < 1. u. 12 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 .70 80 91 I00 November 1939 to Sember 1951 (4,352 days)50 60 .70 90 100 PERCENT OF DAYS WATER ELEVATION EQUALED OR EXCEEDED THAT SHOWN FIGURE 15. Stage-duration curve for North New River Canal a t South Bay (north of dam) for period November 1939 to September 1951 (4,352 days). S
PAGE 65
16w I .15 -i Land-surface elevation 15ft above sea level o C LL&14 _ z I"U UJ 14 12 1 1-1-----------_ _-0 10. 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 PERCENT OF DAYS WATER ELEVATION EOUALED OR EXCEEDED THAT SHOWN GURz 16. Stage-duration curve for Miami Canal at Lake Harbor (south of dam) for period May 1946 to June 1950 (1,522 days).
PAGE 66
1,600 1,400 z 0 W 1,200 r. \Note.No measurable flow on 7.6% of days 1. i,000. .. .\ / Flow to northwest 0 4 00 .... .. 6o00 D \Flow to southeast z S4000 50 60 70 80 90 CO 200 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 PERCENT OF DAYS DISCHARGE EQUALED OR EXCEEDED THAT SHOWN FIGURE 17. Flow-duration curve for West Palm Beach Canal at Canal Point (northwest of dam) for period December 1939 to September 1950 (3,957 days).
PAGE 67
8,000 ---7,000 6 ,0 0 0 ----------------------------------------------a o u 6,000 0 Lu I o 4,000 .\ .1000 S,000 .1,000-CO 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 PERCENT OF DAYS DISCHARGE EQUALED OR EXCEEDED THAT SHOWN FIGURE 18. Flow-duration curve for West Palm Beach Canal at West Palm Beach (above dam) for period November 1939 to September 1951 (4,352 days).
PAGE 68
400 o 0 w 300 n Note.No meosuroble flow on 1.4% of days w, SFlow to southeast C.o 2 0 0 --_ _--------------_ _--------------_ o 100 \ /Flow to northwest 00 J 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 FIGURE 19. Flow-duration curve for Hillsboro Canal at Belle Glade for period November 1942 to September 1950 (2,891 days). 1950 (2,891 days). ~
PAGE 69
4,000ooo 1 ...... 3,500 0 U 'Q o 2,5 0 0 *. 0 . o 2,00 -\ ---------------------------------------------. o 2,000 -1,500 & _= u € 00 00 ------__S_----____ 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 PERCENT OF DAYS DISCHARGE EQUALED OR EXCEEDED THAT SHOWN FIGURE 20. Plow-duration curve for Hillsboro Canal near Deer field Beach (above dam) for period November 1939 to September 1951 (4,352 days). 't Q..
PAGE 70
7 0 0 ---------------------------------------700 w 600 .\Note.No meosurable flow on 1.6% of days .500 o 400 G oon ' Flow to south 1 306o etebe_15 _3_10_ das)_. w o= zco S2. 00 Z S0)0 ---------p-------------------Flow to north 100 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 PERCENT OF DAYS DISCHARGE EQUALED OR EXCEEDED THAT -SHOWN FIGURE 21. Flow-duration curve for North New River Canal at South Bay (south of dam) for period April 1942 to September 1950 (3,105 days). C
PAGE 71
62 F.LORIDA GEOLOGICA, SURVEY SOURCES OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Inquiries relating to current water-resources information for Palm Beach County may be addressed to the following members of the U. S. Geological Survey: Ground Water: District Geologist, GW P. O. Box 348 Coconut Grove Station Miami 33, Florida Quality of Water: District Chemist, QW P. O. Box 607 Ocala, Florida Surface Water: District Engineer, SW P. O. Box 607 Ocala, Florida
PAGE 72
REPORT OF INVES'rIGATIONS No. 13 63 REFERENCES Black, A. P. 1951 (and Brown, E.) Chemical character of Florida's waters 1951: Florida State Board of Conserv., Water Survey and Research Paper, no. 6, 119 pp. Clayton, B. S. 1942 (Neller, J. R., and Allison, R. V.) Water control in the peat and muck soils of the Everglades: Univ. Fla. Expt. Sta. Bull. 378, 74 pp. Collins, W. D. 1928 (and Howard, C. S.) Chemical Character of waters of Florida: U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 596-G, pp. 177-233. Cook, C. Wythe (Also see Parker, C. G.) 1945 Geology of Florida: Florida Geol. Survey Bull. 29, 339 pp. Ferguson, G. E. (Also see Parker, G. G.) 1943 Summary of 3 years of surface-water studies in the Everglades: Soil Sci. Soc. of Florida Proc., vol. V, pp. 18-23. Love, S. K. 1942 (and Swenson, H. A.) Chemical character of public water supplies in southeastern Florida: Jour. Am. Water Works Assoc., vol. 34, no. 11, pp. 1624-1628. Parker, G. G. 1944 (and Cooke, G. W.) Late Cenozoic geology of southern Florida, with a discussion of the ground water: Florida Geol. Survey Bull. 27, 119 pp. 1945 Salt-water encroachment in southern Florida: Jour Am. Water Works Assoc., vol. 37, no. 6, pp. 526-542. 1951 Geologic and hydrologic factors in the perennial yield of the Biscayne aquifer: Jour. Am. Water Works Assoc., vol. 43, no. 10, pp. 817-834, 7 figs. 195(Ferguson, G. E. Love, S. K., and others) Water resources of southeastern Florida with special reference to the geology and ground water of the Miami area: U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper (in preparation). Puri, Harbans S. 1953 Zonation of the Ocala Group in Peninsular Florida (abstract): Jour. Sedimentry Petrology, vol. 23, no. 2, p. 130. Sellards, E. H. 1913 (and Gunter, Herman) The artesian water supply of eastern and southern Florida: Florida Geol. Survey 5th Ann. Rept. Stringfield, V. T. 1933 Ground water in the Lake Okeechobee area, Florida: Florida Geol. Survey Rept. Inv. 2, 31 pp. Vernon, R. 0. 1951 Geology of Citrus and Levy Counties, Florida: Florida Geol. Survey Bull. 33, 255 pp.
|
|