Everglades Restoration and the Hydrology and Hydraulics of the C-44 Canal and the C-44 Reservoir/STA Project

The restoration of the Everglades has been called one of the most significant environmental projects ever undertaken. One of the key projects within the overall Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) is the C-44 Reservoir/Stormwater Treatment Area Project. This project is designed to provide a means to reduce the impact of those rainfall/runoff events which affect the overall viability of the St. Lucie Estuary (SLE). The primary goal of the project is to change the timing and quality of the water discharging into the C-44 canal, resulting in improved water quality to the SLE through the use of over 3,000 acres of reservoir and 6,000 acres of stormwater treatment area cells (STA). The flow regime of the C-44 Canal must be understood so that the reservoir and STA cells can be designed effectively. This understanding is developed through the use of hydrologic, hydraulic models and water quality models. The hydrologic and hydraulic models which are the subject of this paper were used for the simulation of the operations of the C-44 Project, including the evaluation of C-44 Canal flows and water surface elevations, intake canal and pump station hydraulics, reservoir discharge and flow distribution, STA hydraulic performance, and ultimate system discharge. The primary models used included URS WaSh, MIKE 11, Advanced Interconnected Pond Routing Model (AdICPR) and EPA Stormwater Management Model (SWMM5).