Frequency Analysis of Shallow Water Tables for Drainage Applications
Publication: Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 137, Issue 6
Abstract
In coastal areas with shallow aquifers, the minimum elevation of newly developed land is typically required to exceed the water-table elevation corresponding to a given return period. Determination of this regulatory water-table elevation usually requires a nonstationary frequency analysis of measured water-table elevations. In this paper, a simple and effective power-transform frequency-analysis procedure for extracting the requisite regulatory water-table elevation is presented and demonstrated. This procedure identifies the critical period yielding the maximum water-table elevation for a given return period, which is a robust regulatory elevation that might not need frequent updates. The assumptions underlying the proposed power-transform frequency-analysis procedure are shown to be valid at 23 of the 24 wells investigated in this study.
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Acknowledgments
The writer acknowledges the contributions of the following University of Miami students who preprocessed much of the water-table data used in this study: Bader Alessa, Jose Enrique Cueto, Omar De Leon, Erik Gadzinski, Eric Jenks, Tommy Kiger, Aarthi Narayanan, and Andrew Silverman. Carrie Prestwood-Taylor supported the postprocessing of the data. Manny Tobon of the Miami-Dade Department of Environmental Resources Management provided expert advice on water-control regulations.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 137 • Issue 6 • November 2011
Pages: 491 - 497
Copyright
© 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 13, 2010
Accepted: Dec 5, 2010
Published online: Dec 9, 2010
Published in print: Nov 1, 2011
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