South Florida Ecosystem Program; seepage beneath Levee 30 in northern Dade County

Introduction  

The South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Program is an intergovernmental effort, involving a number of agencies, to reestablish and maintain the ecosystem of south Florida. One element of the restoration effort is the development of a firm scientific basis for resource decision making. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), one of the agencies, provides scientific information as part of the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Program. The USGS began their own program, called the South Florida Ecosystem Program, in fiscal year 1995 for the purpose of gathering hydrologic, cartographic, and geologic data that relate to the mainland of south Florida, Florida Bay, and the Florida Keys and Reef ecosystems.

The USGS, in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), is conducting a study to evaluate methods for quantifying seepage losses (outflows) from the Everglades to the subsurface sediments (aquifers) in the ecosystem. This study is being done to determine the seepage under Levee 30 in northern Dade County.