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m ;?* n WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT PLAN Cypress Big National Preserve i V Please do not remove this item from Room Resource :CE 'ON DO RTY Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from LYRASIS Members and Sloan Foundation http://archive.org/details/waterresourcesmaOOschn YMVL 5k£W6£> Uni-f fatf WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT PLAN BIG CYPRESS NATIONAL PRESERVE May 1996 Prepared by WilliamJ. Schneider Water Resources Consultant McLean, Virginia Don Weeks P. Hydrologist National Park Service Big Cypress National Preserve Ochopee, Florida David L. Sharrow Hydrologist National Park Service remoW aterResourceDivision )t n Fort Collins, Colorado W this item from V'AtS^^K SERVICE Room Resource g* RESOl :Rjy J^ V iWSl, VO^^Lu^ Approved by: Superintendent, Big Cypress National Preserve Date 55811 TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE v INTRODUCTION 1 The Big Cypress Swamp 1 EstablishmentofBig Cypress National Preserve 2 Additions tothe Preserve 2 THEHYDROLOGIC ENVIRONMENT 5 Physiographic Setting 5 Precipitation 5 GroundWater Aquifers 7 FlowCharacteristics 7 Waterand SedimentQuality 12 WATERRESOURCES MANAGEMENTPLANNINGCONSIDERATIONS 1 NeedforaWater ManagementPlan 1 Legislative and PlanningConstraints and Requirements 15 Federal Legislation andExecutive Orders 15 State ofFloridaStatutes 1 CurrentLandUse Considerations 22 Major Land Disturbances andUses 22 General (Non-Site Specific) LandUses 23 External LandUses 23 WATERRESOURCES MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES 25 TheChallenge 25 ManagementObjectives 25 WATERRESOURCES MANAGEMENTISSUES 27 Programmatic Issues 27 Issue: Long-TermHydrologic Monitoring 27 Issue: Baseline Information 29 Issue: Coordination 30 Issue: Long-TermLandUseMonitoring 3 Specific Issues 3 Issue: Agriculture 32 Issue: Indian LandUseon Tribal Lands 32 Issue: SalinityGradients inCanals and Estuaries 32 Issue: Dade-CollierCountyTransition andTraining AirportandL-28 Levee 34 Issue: Oil and Gas 34 Issue: Traditional Indian Uses inthe Preserve 35 Issue: Wetland Restoration 35 Issue: Non-Federal Lands 35 Issue: Off-RoadVehicles 36 Issue: Special Waters Designation 36 Issue: Mercury 37 Issue: Grazing 37 Issue: AbandonedAgricultural Lands in the Preserve 38 Issue: UndergroundStorageTanks 38 Issue: Creosote Contamination atJerome 38 1 Issue: National ParkServiceDomestic WaterSupplyandWastewaterDisposal 38 Systems WATERRESOURCES MANAGEMENTPROGRAM 39 The CurrentHydrologyProgram 39 The NeedforaDynamic Program 39 The Nucleus ofthe Program 40 InventoryandMonitoring 40 Cooperation andCoordination 41 Data Management 42 Specific WaterResources Issues 42 Staffand SupportNeeds 43 PROJECT STATEMENTS 47 SELECTED REFERENCES 65 APPENDICES 71 AppendixA. ProjectStatements 73 BICY-N-001 AssesstheHydrologic MonitoringNetwork 75 BICY-N-033 ExpandtheExisting HydrologicMonitoring Network 78 BICY-N-034 PrepareAnnualWaterResourcesReports 8 BICY-N-074 Develop aWaterQualityBaselineforthePreserve 84 BICY-N-097 IncorporateExternal andInternalMeteorological Informationinto 87 HydrologicalDatabase BICY-N-098 InventoryFlowImpediments andWaterControl Structures 90 BICY-N-099 ImproveTopographic Map Resolution 93 BICY-N-100 IncorporateWaterQualityDatafromExternal Sources into 96 HydrologicalDatabase BICY-N-103 IncorporateWaterStageDatafromExternal Sources into 99 HydrologicalDatabase BICY-N-104 InventoryInternalLandUse 102 BICY-N-106 InventoryExternal LandUse 105 BICY-N-200 SupporttheSouth FloridaNationalWaterQualityAssessmentProgram 109 BICY-N-201 SupportRegional MercuryContaminationAssessment 112 BICY-N-202 SupportAquiferCharacterization Studies 115 BICY-N-203 SupportEvapotranspiration MonitoringEfforts 119 BICY-N-204 SupportEffortstoAssess andMitigateImpacts fromL-28 Interceptorand 122 L-28 LeveeSystemsonWaterResources BICY-N-205 SupportEffortstoAssess andMitigateImpacts fromLoop Road 126 onWaterResources BICY-N-206 SupportEfforts toAssess andMitigateImpacts fromBarron River 129 CanalonWaterResources BICY-N-207 EvaluateandPursueOutstandingNationalResourceWaters 132 Designationforthe Preserve BICY-N-208 MonitorImpacts ofOil & GasOperations onWaterResources 135 BICY-N-209 MonitorSalinityGradients inCanalsandEstuaries 138 BICY-N-210 IdentifyWetlandReclamationProjects 141 BICY-N-211 IdentifyandMonitorImpactsfromOff-RoadVehicleUse 144 BICY-I-212 IdentifyandMonitorTraditionalIndianLandUses 147 BICY-I-213 IdentifyandMonitorNon-FederalLandUses 150 BICY-N-214 IdentifyandMonitorImpactsfromGrazingon WaterResources 153 BICY-I-215 InventoryExistingUndergroundStorageTanks andProperly 156 CloseorUpgrade BICY-N-216 MonitorRemediation ofCreosoteContamination inJerome 159 11 BICY-I-217 InventoryCompliance Requirements for the Preserve'sWater 162 Supplyand Wastewater Systems BICY-N-218 SupportEfforts to InventoryIndicator Biota 165 Appendix B. Consultation, Coordination, andAcknowledgments 167 Appendix C. ListofPreparers andAcknowledgments 171 Appendix D. DraftWaterResources ManagementPlan, Copies DistributedforReview 175 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. LocationofBig Cypress Swamp andOtherPhysiographic Regionsin Southern Florida. 1 Figure 2. BigCypress National Preserve. 3 Figure 3. Hydrologic Features ofBig CypressNational Preserve. 6 Figure4. Rainfall Summary, Everglades andSouthwestCoast. 8 Figure 5. MonthlyPrecipitation, Oasis andOchopeeStations. 8 Figure 6. ProfileofAquifer Systems inthe VicinityofBigCypress National Preserve. 9 Figure 7. HydrographofDailyMean WaterLevelsforBridge 105, 10 1969-1970 and 1989-1990. Figure 8. Stage Duration Curves forBridge 105. 10 Figure 9. Hydrograph ofMonthlyMean DischargeforTamiami Trail 1 CanalOutlets, 1964-1994. Figure 10. AnnualMean DischargeforTamiamiTrail Canal Outlets, 1964-1994. 1 Figure 11. MonthlyDischarge forTamiamiTrailCanal Outlets, 1964-1994. 12 Figure 12. Consumptive WaterUse andSurfaceWaterPermitLocations. 33 Figure 13. Organization StructureforProposedWaterResources ManagementProgram 44 atBigCypress NationalPreserve. LIST OF TABLES Table 1. WaterQualityandWaterStage MonitoringStations and 28 RespectiveWater QualityParameters. Table 2. SummaryofProject Statements 48 m IV PREFACE UnitsoftheNationalParkSystemare notrequiredtodevelop aWater Resources ManagementPlan. However, where water resource issues or management constraints are particularly numerous, complex, or controversial, a Water Resources ManagementPlanisextremelyusefulinprovidinganidentification and analysis ofwater-related information and issues, and presenting acoordinatedaction plan to address them. TheBig Cypress National Preserve is aprime candidateforsuch a Water Resources ManagementPlan. The Water Resources Management Plan is complementaryto and consistent with the General Management Plan andthe MineralsManagementPlanforthePreserve. TheWaterResources ManagementPlan is similarto the Preserve's Resources Management Plan, butincludes a more thoroughreview ofexisting information, an in-depth analysis ofwaterresources issues, and the developmentofan action plan toaddress them. The total program represents an ambitious effort to establish a firm, hydrologically-sound basis for competent, rational management ofthe waterresources ofthe Preserve through detailed understanding ofits hydrology, knowledge ofmajor influences on it, and a strongdatabase to supportdecision-making. Implementationofthisprogramwill require long-term, continuous commitmentsofpersonnel andfunding. Itis, however, essentialinprovidingalevelofdata andhydrologic information neededbythe Preserveforeffective andwise management ofits waterresources, notonlyfor its own benefitbutalsoforthe benefitofthetotalecosystemofwhich itis apart. Theprogramisextensive. Itwillrequiretimeandcommitment. Itis alsovitaltotheprotection ofthemajorresourceofthe — Preserve its water. .a #:f« a VI