An Atlas of Eastern Dade County Surface Water Management Basins; Technical Memorandum

Cooper, Richard; Lane, Jim

This atlas contains information about the surface water management basins in Dade County, Florida. The South Florida Water Management District (District) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) have authority over water management in these basins. The District has sponsored publication of this atlas so that up-to-date non-technical descriptions o the surface water management basins in Dade County are available to District personnel, to local governments in Dade County, and to other interested persons. By text, maps, and tables of information, the . basins are defined and located within the county, and those canals, levees, and control structures within each basin and under the management of the District or the COE are located within the basin and are described and discussed with regard to their operation and management. The surface water management basins of eastern Dade County, Florida, were first delineated in the 1950s by the COE in their General Desi n Memorandum (GDM) for the Central and Southern Florida Flood Contra Project Project . Base on the hydrology of the basins, the COE designed and constructed a system of canals, levees, and control structures to provide flood protection for southern and central Florida. The Project is dynamic with new works being constructed and old ones being modified to meet the changing needs of southern Florida. Most of the works constructed under the Project are now under the management of the District. Seventeen basins are described: the C-1, C-2, C-3, C-4, C-5, C-6, C-7, C-8, C-9, C-100, C-102, C-103, C-111, North Canal, Florida City Canal, Model Land, and Homestead Air Force Base basins. These basins are located in the eastern half of Dade County. Water Conservation Areas 3A and 3B and Everglades National Park which occupy the western half of the county are included in a separate atlas. The Project canals in Dade County serve a variety of functions. The primary function of a I the canals is to provide flood protection for the basins in which they occur. Secondary uses of the canals include land drainage for agriculture and urban or residential development, and regulation of groundwater table elevations to prevent saltwater intrusion into local groundwater. Many of the canals are used to supply water for irrigation and to. recharge the wellfields of local municipalities.Two canals, C-6 and C-4, are used to Discharge excess water from the Water Conservation Areas to tidewater. The Project control structures in Dade County regulate the flow of water in the canals. In general they are used to discharge excess water from the basins during flooding and to maintain minimum water levels in the canals during drought periods. Some structures are usually closed to prevent water from passing from one basin to another, but can be opened to supply water from one basin or canal to another as necessary. The coastal structures have the additional function of preventing saltwater from a tidal or storm surge from entering those canals discharging to tidewater. The South Dade Conveyance System (SDCS) interconnects several of the basins in southern Dade County. The canals associated with SDCS are used to supply water to Everglades National Park and to canals in southern Dade County for irrigation, for well field recharge, and for control of saltwater intrusion into canals and groundwater near the coast. A bibliography is included with the atlas. It lists publications concerning hydrology and hydraulics, water use, water quality, and land use in Dade County. For the reader unfamiliar with some of the concepts and words used in these descriptions, the appendices contain a discussion of some basic hydrologic and hydraulic concepts, and a glossary of terms.