Modeling Study of Saltwater Intrusion in Loxahatchee River, Florida

The upstream advance of saltwater into the historic freshwater reaches of the Loxahatchee River has altered the floodplain cypress forest community along the river and some of its tributaries. A hydrodynamic/salinity model was developed to study the influence of freshwater input, tidal inlet deepening and sea level rise on the salinity regime in the estuary. The model was recently updated with new bathymetric data. The updated model was tested against the tide and salinity data that had been collected in 2003. The model output and field data were examined and compared to assess the possibility of establishing a relationship between freshwater inflow and daily average salinity.