Water table in the surficial aquifer and potentiometric surface of the Floridan Aquifer in selected well fields, west-central Florida, May 1979

The water table is the surficial aquifer and the potentiometric surface of the Floridan aquifer in a 1,200-square-mile area in west-central Florida are mapped semiannually by the U.S. Geological Survey. Maps are prepared showing water levels measured in wells each May to coincide with seasonal low levels, and each September to coincide with seasonal high levels. The mapped area shows 16 well fields which supplied 128 million gallons to municipalities on May 15, 1979. The water is withdrawn from the Floridan aquifer, the major aquifer in Florida. Water levels were significantly higher in May 1979 than in May 1978. Heavy rains on May 7 and 8th deluged the well-field areas with 2 to 18 inches of rain. The maximum increase in water levels from May 1978 to May 1979 was more than 8 feet at the Eldridge-Wilde well field. (USGS)