Projected Performance of the New Rainfall-Based Water Delivery Plan for the Everglades Shark Slough

As part of federal and state of Florida efforts to provide more natural water flows to the Everglades, a new Rainfall-Based Water Management Plan was developed for the Everglades' Shark Slough. This new operating plan, along with several new water control structures, was designed to improve the spatial and temporal distribution of water deliveries and hydrologic conditions in Shark Slough, the main waterway of Everglades National Park. The new plan is scheduled to replace the current plan which has been in effect since 1985. A key component of the new plan is a new Rainfall-Driven Formula which estimates the flow targets in response to recent and real-time weather conditions. This paper provides an overview of the new Rainfall-Based Water Management Plan with more detailed discussions of analyses that compares the expected performance of the new plan with the current plan. Simulations using the South Florida Water Management Model (SFWMM) provided estimates of the improvement in Everglades flows and hydropatterns. The new rainfall plan is to be implemented through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Combined Structural and Operational Plan (CSOP) for the Modified Water Deliveries to Everglades National Park Project (MWD) and the C-111 Canal Project. Implementation is currently scheduled for the year 2010. The new rainfall plan is a practical and meaningful interim step toward hydrologic and ecosystem restoration that is proposed by the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP).