3 Water Quality Issues in the Eastern U.S. I

Monday, 15 April 2024
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Windsor Ballroom Salon B

LEVERAGING THE USGS URBAN MIAMI-DADE GROUNDWATER MODEL: FROM PARTICLE TRACKING SIMULATION TO ATTENUATION AND DEGRADATION OF SEPTIC RETURN EFFLUENTS IN SOUTHEASTERN FLORIDA

Paper number: 3-5
Program: Theme Sessions
Time: 9:05 AM – 9:25 AM

Authors

Abstract

Miami-Dade County (MDC) is characterized by a low elevation and complex karstic geology making the region vulnerable to sea level and water table rise. The fast-growing population (2.7 million) and over 120,000 septic systems make the study of contaminants from septic effluents in the region imperative, since these pose a threat of polluting the Biscayne Aquifer (the main drinking water source in south Florida) and Biscayne Bay.

This study leveraged the Urban Miami-Dade Groundwater Model, published by the USGS in 2016 (covering an area of 4,772 km2), to simulate regional spatiotemporal distribution of septic effluents in the County using MODPATH. The region receives influxes of over 72,000 m3/d from septic effluents. These results are the first regional particle tracking simulations in southeastern Florida, helping to estimate septic effluent discharge locations, with an overall distribution to canals (70%), well fields (19%), and the bay (7%).

The particle model is being enhanced to simulate dispersion, degradation, attenuation, and transformation of the water constituents from septic returns; this is attained by leveraging existing flow simulations in the Groundwater Solute Transport Simulator for MODFLOW (MT3D-USGS) using FloPy and ModelMuse.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 56, No. 2

doi: 10.1130/abs/2024SE-398269

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