Post on 04-Jan-2020
Susan Sylvester
Department Director
Operations Control Department
Mechanics of the Primary Water Management System
A Brief History of the
Central and Southern Florida Project
http://www.americanparknetwork.com/parkinfo/ev/index.html
“Life must be lived forwards,
but it can only be understood backwards”
- Soren Kierkegaard
http://www.ce.utexas.edu/prof/maidment/grad/dugger/GLADES/glades.html
Kissimmee-Okeechobee-Everglades watershed
Once a single hydrologic system of rivers, lakes, and wetlands
Aerial extent 23,000 km2
Early speculation
and reclamation 1882-1947
C&SF Project “Legacy” 1948-1970
Water Management 1971
Repairing the Everglades 1992
Distinct Time periods in the history
of South Florida & the Everglades
The State of Florida. Bruff, Joseph Goldsborough, 1804-1889. [S.l.], 1846.
From U.S. Senate Executive Document v.2 No.2-5, in 30th Cong., 1st Sess.,
1847-48, serial set #504. Scale 1:750,000.
1846 Military
Survey
St Lucie detail
Natural Coastal Creek 1887
1906 dredge Everglades began
digging a canal from the New River (Ft. Lauderdale) to Lake
Okeechobee.
The Swamp Land Act of 1850 transferred
wetlands from the federal government to the states. Florida gave most of its submerged
land to railroad companies and other
developers in exchange for drainage projects
and railroad construction. “You may have these, if you
drain and develop them.”
1913 FL State Geologic Survey
http://palmm.fcla.edu/~fdl/cgi-bin/fdlcgi?rtvm00010016%2Fjpg
http://www.historical-museum.org/exhibits/everglades/roads-4.htm
Early state efforts focused on digging canals in an attempt
to control the hydrologic variation in
the system.
With a goal of drainage and land reclamation for agriculture.
North of Tamiami Trail, 1942
Northwest Dade County, 1944 Everglades Fires in the
Early 1940s
Western Broward County, 1943
Phots courtesy of SFWMD.gov
The floods of 1903 and
1947 and the hurricane of
1926 and 1928 resulted in
institutional changes and
petition to the Federal
Government to provide
flood control.
The state established the
Central and South Florida
Flood Control District.
The focus changed from
reclamation (draining) to flood
control and protection. The
US Army Corps of Engineers
was asked to provide a
comprehensive flood control
project.
This became know as the
Central and Southern Florida
Project for Flood Control and
Other Purposes.
http://www.historical-
museum.org/exhibits/everglades/enp-7.htm
http://www.historical-museum.org/exhibits/everglades/en
p-4.htm
ENP was dedicated in 1947
Central and Southern Florida
Project (1948-1970)
Historic
Flow Current
Flow
Changed Everglades Hydrology
The Corps of Engineers focused on creating a single large integrated system for flood control and water supply.
S-2 (1950)
1,609 miles of canals
and levees.
150 water control
structures
16 major
pumping
stations
Water Management
(1971 -------- )
Water Management (Storage and Conveyance)
• Lakes
• Water Conservation Areas
• Canals and Levees
• Water Control Structures
Operable Culverts Spillways
Pump Stations Weirs
Numbers are approximate and change as structures are added or retired.
Water Control Structures
Seasonal Variation of South Florida Rainfall
Based on Average Rainfall over 30 years.
Jan
Feb Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Wet
months
Dry
Approximate Evaporation
Rainfall above and below the average annual rainfall for 20 stations in South Florida, 1900-2007 (National Climate Center Data).
Annual Variation of South Florida Rainfall
Hydraulic Gradient Based on Historical Average Stage
(CH 2. SFER 2007)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Distance in miles (Lake Tohopekaliga to Florida Bay)
Water surface elevation (ft. NGVD)
Lake Kissimmee
Lake Okeechobee EAA
WCA 3
ENP STAs
Lake Tohopekaliga
FL Bay
WCA 1 WCA 2
160 Drainage Basins
Composed of linked areas that water managers
think of as
“Water Control Units”
Federal and State Responsibilities
Basis of Design and Operation
• USACE Design Memorandums
� Engineering basis of design
• USACE Master Water Control Manuals
� Define specific operational criteria
� Based on the Design Memoranda
“Central and Southern Florida Project for Flood Control and Other Purposes”
Initially authorized in 1948 Constructed between 1950s and 1970s
Operated in accordance with USACE criteria
USACE SFWMD
How operational decisions are made
55 Miles
per Hour
What is a Regulation Schedule?
0 MPH
20 MPH
30 MPH
40 MPH
1st Gear
2nd Gear
3rd Gear
4th Gear
SPEED
What is a Regulation Schedule?
25%
40 %
50 %
100%
Zone D
Zone C
Zone B
Zone A
Discharge
Stage
Flood Control Discharges
Kissimmee River Basin – East Lake Tohopekaliga
Water Supply Releases
Flood Control
Lake Okeechobee Regulation Schedule - WSE
Water Shortage Management Water Shortage
Zone E
Kissimmee
Fisheating Creek (Uncontrolled)
& C-5
Inflows & Outflows
Lake Okeechobee
Nubbin Slough
Taylor Creek
C-41A, C-40
& C-41
S-308 St Lucie may inflow if Lake is < 14.5
S-2 & S-3 under large rainfall may pump to Lake
S-135
Inflow capacity exceeds outflow capacity
S-77
S-354
C-10
S-351
S-352
Lake Okeechobee's drainage basin covers more than 4,600 square miles
80% East & West
20% South
Kissimmee Inflows
Other Inflows
Rain
LOSA Water Supply
Regulatory to Estuaries
ET
Regulatory to WCAs
Estimated Lake Okeechobee Annual Water Budget
For Ecological Sustainability: 12.5 to 15.5 ft-NGVD
For Dike Stability: < 18.0* ft-NGVD
Deep Pelagic Zone
(Elevation < 10’) Littoral Wetland
(Elevation 11-15’)
Submerged Grass Beds
(Elevation 10-12’)
12-15.5’ variation = healthy littoral and submerged grass beds
Top of Dike (Elevation 32.3 – 45.6’)
Not to Scale
*Less than 17.33 ft-NGVD according to the USACE
Ranges of water levels
Historical Daily Lake Okeechobee Water Level
System Storage
Upper Chain of Lakes
Lake Kissimmee
Lake Istokpoga
Lake Okeechobee
Water Conservation Areas
Average Storage in Lakes and Water Conservation Areas
Questions?