Central FL Water Initiative Groundwater Availability Study

Florida’s water management districts maintain the state’s sustainable groundwater supply and regulate withdrawals from that supply for consumptive use. In 2006, three of the districts identified a region in Central Florida where supplies were expected to be insufficient to meet future demands. The three districts decided to jointly develop a regional water management plan.

Location

Central Florida, USA

Client

Central Florida Water Initiative

Project Status

Completed in 2014

Awards

Grand Award, Studies/Research, Florida Institute of Consulting Engineers’ Engineering Excellence Competition, 2014

Preparing for the Future

The Central Florida Water Initiative (CFWI), which included seven utilities, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the local agricultural industry, and environmental groups, was created to develop a regional water management plan for the area. A fundamental obstacle encountered was no definitive measure existed for the sustainable amount of available groundwater. The CFWI Groundwater Availability Study was initiated to help quantify that value, identify factors that could affect the supply, and facilitate the development of technical tools that would support planning and rulemaking to define how stakeholders can equitably share groundwater.

WSP USA assisted with the development of an improved regional groundwater model and also developed a unique method for estimating the likely environmental consequences of altered water levels in wetlands. The statistical wetland stress risk assessment method (SWSRAM) makes it possible to calculate the probability of a wetland becoming stressed or unstressed due to a change in hydrologic conditions. Using this method, the alliance reached consensus on how much sustainable groundwater is available, allowing the allocation rulemaking process to proceed.