Influence of evaporation, ground water, and uncertainty in the hydrologic budget of Lake Lucerne, a seepage lake in Polk County, Florida

A detailed hydrologic budget was constructed of a seepage lake of sinkhole origin in the karst terrain of central Florida. During the drought period studied, lake evaporation computed by the energy-budget and mass-transfer methods was the largest component in the budget, followed by rainfall. Ground-water inflow contributed about one-third of the total inflow. Lake leakage was about one-fourth of the evaporative losses and was increased substantially by pumping from the Upper Floridan aquifer.