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The Influence of Hydrologic Restoration on Groundwater-Surface Water Interactions in a Karst Wetland, the Everglades (FL, USA)

  • Hydrologic Restoration
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Abstract

Efforts to rehydrate and restore surface water flow in karst wetlands can have unintended consequences, as these highly conductive and heterogeneous aquifers create a close connection between groundwater and surface water. Recently, hydrologic restoration efforts in the karstic Taylor Slough portion of the Everglades has changed from point source delivery of canal water (direct restoration), to the use of a series of surface water recharge retention basins (diffuse restoration). To determine the influence of restoration on groundwater-surface water interactions in the Taylor Slough headwaters, a water budget was constructed for 1997–2011 using 70 hydro-meteorological stations. With diffuse restoration, groundwater seepage from the Everglades toward the urban boundary increased, while the downstream delivery of surface water to the main portion of the slough declined. The combined influence of diffuse restoration and climate led to increased intra-annual variability in the volume of groundwater and surface water in storage but supported a more seasonally hydrated wetland compared to the earlier direct tactics. The data further indicated that hydrologic engineering in karst wetland landscapes enhances groundwater-surface water interactions, even those designed for restoration purposes.

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Acknowledgments

This publication was produced as part of a special issue devoted to investigating the ecological response of over 20 years of hydrologic restoration and active management in the Taylor Slough drainage of Everglades National Park. Support for this research was provided by the Department of the Interior’s National Park Service through the Everglades Fellowship Program at Florida International University. Support for this special issue was provided by: the Everglades National Park, the Southeast Environmental Research Center, the Florida Coastal Everglades Long-Term Ecological Research program (National Science Foundation cooperative agreement #DBI-0620409), the Everglades Foundation and the South Florida Water Management District. A portion of R. Price effort was supported by the NASA WaterSCAPES grant. This is SERC contribution no. 597.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Earth and Environmental Systems Institute, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Pamela L. Sullivan

  2. Southeast Environmental Research Center, Florida International University, Miami, FL, 33199, USA

    Pamela L. Sullivan, René M. Price, Amartya Saha & Evelyn E. Gaiser

  3. Department of Biology, Florida International University, Miami, FL, 33199, USA

    Pamela L. Sullivan, Amartya Saha & Evelyn E. Gaiser

  4. Department of Earth and the Environment, Florida International University, Miami, FL, 33199, USA

    René M. Price

  5. Department of Biology, West Chester University, West Chester, PA, 19383, USA

    Jessica L. Schedlbauer

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  1. Pamela L. Sullivan
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Correspondence to Pamela L. Sullivan.

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EMS 1

Annual rainfall between 1997 and 2003 was typically equivalent to, or above, the 60-year mean rainfall (RPL Station) while substantially below the average for several years between 2004 and 2009. (DOC 67 kb)

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Sullivan, P.L., Price, R.M., Schedlbauer, J.L. et al. The Influence of Hydrologic Restoration on Groundwater-Surface Water Interactions in a Karst Wetland, the Everglades (FL, USA). Wetlands 34 (Suppl 1), 23–35 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-013-0451-8

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