A computer model was calibrated to approximate predevelopment flow conditions in a multilayered aquifer system in 10,600 square miles in west-central Floria. The lowermost aquifer, called the Floridan aquifer, is confined in most of the study area and consists of carbonate rocks ranging up to 1,300 feet thick. The Floridan aquifer is the chief source for large withdrawals and natural springflow in the study area. Daily springflows within the study area have averaged about 2.4 billion gallons. The secondary artesian and the surficial aquifers are much less permeable than the Floridan aquifer. Where they are present and have heads higher than those in the Floridan aquifer, they provide recharge to the Floridan. Initial estimates of recharge to the Floridan aquifer were from water-balance calculations for surface-water basins; initial estimates of transmissivity were from aquifer tests and flow-net analyses. The model was calibrated for the predevelopment era, wherein steady-state flow conditions were assumed. Calibrated transmissivities for the Floridan aquifer range from less than 15,000 to several million feet squared per day. Recharge to the system was about 3,700 cubic feet per second. About 90% was discharged as springflow, and 10% was upward leakage.
