Integrated Surface Water and Groundwater Modeling of Orange River Basin in Southwest Florida for Flood Mitigation/Ecosystem Restoration

MIKE SHE/MIKE 11 water modeling software was applied to develop a comprehensive water resources plan for the East County Water Control District (ECWCD) in southwest Florida. The main objectives of the comprehensive plan were, (1) to reduce the extent, magnitude, and duration of flooding in the upper region of Orange River basin, (2) increase groundwater recharge within the ECWCD to augment water supply, and (3) improve water quality of the waters leaving ECWCD boundaries. It was envisioned that the comprehensive plan would result in modification of a number of existing structures on canals in the areas covered by the ECWCD jurisdiction. As part of this modeling project, a number of flow diversions and water storage options are being reconsidered. This paper describes calibration of the integrated model and modeling results for a set of potential hydraulic network upgrades and diversion alternatives. The alternatives proposed and fully evaluated were either quick-action projects that can be implemented in the near future or are more long-term projects that have a high potential to meet project objectives and require land acquisition that could be initiated in the near future. Additional alternatives were also evaluated based on the results of the alternatives described here. All of the hydraulic network modifications were evaluated to consider downstream impacts so that problems are not simply transferred from one area to another. The modeling work was performed using the ECWCD version of the Tidal Caloosahatchee River Basin (TCRB) integrated surface-ground water model developed for SFWMD and ECWCD.