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Appendix E
Excerpts from Draft Project Management Plan – Lake Okeechobee
(2nd Draft, September 2000, South Florida Water Management District)
This appendix has been provided for the convenience of the reader, but the CROGEE has made no major editorial changes in the original text as written by the South Florida Water Management District. Minor editorial changes with respect to figures have been made for consistency with the rest of the report, and are noted [in italics within square brackets].
SECTION 1
PROJECT INFORMATION
1.1 Description
The Central and Southern Florida Project Comprehensive Review Study (USACE, 1999) -- developed jointly by the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) – presents a framework for Everglades restoration. Now known as the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), this plan contained 68 components, including critical restoration projects, operational changes to the Central and Southern Florida Project (C&SF), creation of water quality treatment facilities and other modifications with the principal goal of the creation of approximately 217,000 acres of new reservoirs and wetlands-based water treatment areas. The CERP achieves the restoration of more natural flows of water, including sheet flow, improved water quality, and more natural hydro-periods in the south Florida ecosystem. Improvements to native flora and fauna, including threatened and endangered species, will occur as a result of the restoration of the hydrologic conditions. The plan was also designed to enlarge the region's supply of fresh water and to improve how water is delivered to the natural system.
A large number of the construction features contained in the CERP were designed at various levels of detail based on information that was available during the plan formulation and evaluation phase. Many of the design assumptions for the components were based solely on output from the South Florida Water Management Model, which averages hydrologic conditions across a model comprised of grid cells with lengths and widths of 2 miles by 2 miles. Consequently, the engineering details of the construction features, including the size and locations are conceptual. More site-specific analyses of the individual components would be needed during the preconstruction engineering and design phase to determine the optimum size, location, and configuration of the facilities. To this end, the CERP contained a number of pilot projects, with the intention of acquiring more information.
Some of the pilot projects described in the CERP include the construction of aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) systems along the Hillsboro Canal, the Caloosahatchee River and adjacent to Lake Okeechobee. This document contains the Project Management Plan to implement the Lake Okeechobee ASR Pilot Project. Figure 1 [ Figure 2 of Chapter 1 of this report] is a project location map.
The project concept is to store partially-treated surface water or groundwater when it is available in ASR wells – completed within the underlying Floridan Aquifer System (FAS)—for subsequent recovery during dry periods. Among other benefits, implementation of regional ASR technology at the Lake Okeechobee site would help to minimize high-volume water releases to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee River estuaries. During dry periods, water recovered from the ASR wells would be used to maintain the surface water level within the lake and associated canals throughout the Everglades, and to augment water supply demands.
The Lake Okeechobee ASR pilot project will consist of six (6) ASR wells, each with an estimated capacity of 5 million gallons per day (mgd). Three (3) of the wells will be located around Lake Okeechobee to demonstrate ASR performance in geographically dispersed areas. A three (3) well cluster will also be installed, to demonstrate how multiple-well ASR systems interact. Monitoring wells and surface facilities will also be constructed at each of these systems. Later phases of the project will include the installation of additional, larger well clusters ultimately reaching the final estimate of 200 ASR wells with the capacity to store and withdraw up to 1 billion gallons of water per day. The purpose of this document is to describe the work tasks that will be necessary to implement the Lake Okeechobee ASR pilot project.
This document provides a comprehensive project management plan for implementation of the Lake Okeechobee Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) Pilot Project through the completion of construction, cycle testing and monitoring. The guidance contained within this document is not intended to be allinclusive nor to anticipate or include all possible changes to the project during its continuing development. Rather, it is intended to be general in nature as it is expected to be modified, updated and evolve over the life cycle of the project.
1.3 Project Background
Lake Okeechobee lies 30 miles west of the Atlantic Ocean and 60 miles east of the Gulf of Mexico, in the central part of the Florida peninsula. The Lake itself is approximately 730 square miles, and is the principal natural reservoir in south Florida. Portions of Palm Beach, Martin, Okeechobee, Glades and Hendry Counties surround the Lake. Water flows into the Lake primarily from the Kissimmee River, Fisheating Creek and Taylor Creek. Water flows out of the west side of the Lake from the Caloosahatchee River and out of the east side from the St. Lucie and West Palm Beach Canals. The Hillsboro, North New River, and Miami Canals drain the Lake to the south.
Lake Okeechobee is at the center of the south Florida drainage system, receiving flow from the Kissimmee River Basin and to a lesser extent from Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) backpumping. It discharges east through the St. Lucie (C-44) Canal into the St. Lucie Estuary, west through the Caloosahatchee River (C-43 Canal), and south through four major canals through the EAA into the Water Conservation Areas (WCAs).
In the late 1860s, the Lake was much larger than it is now, with an extensive wetland littoral zone along the shoreline. Water levels fluctuated between 17 feet and 23 feet above National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD), and periodically flooded the exposed areas of the low-gradient marsh. Under both high and low conditions, there was abundant submerged and exposed habitat for fish and other wildlife. Today's Lake is constrained within a dike (i.e., the Herbert Hoover Dike), and the littoral zone is much smaller. As a result, when water levels are above 15 feet NGVD, the entire littoral zone is flooded; leaving no habitat for wildlife that requires exposed ground. When water levels are below 11 feet NGVD, the entire marsh is dry, and not available as habitat for fish and other aquatic life.
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Water levels in the Lake are currently regulated by a complex system of pumps, spillways, and locks according to a regulation schedule developed by the USACE. The regulation schedule attempts to achieve multiple-use purposes as well as provide seasonal lake level fluctuations. The schedule is designed to maintain a low lake stage to provide both storage capacity and flood protection for surrounding areas during the wet season. The schedule is also a guide for the management of high lake stages that might threaten the integrity of the Herbert Hoover Dike and thereby risk flooding of downstream lands. During the winter, lake water levels may be increased to store water for the upcoming dry season. This is facilitated by holding water that flows into the Lake from the Kissimmee River Basin and by backpumping from the EAA.
Water quality data indicate that the Lake is currently in a eutrophic condition, primarily due to excessive nutrient loads from the agricultural sources both north and south of the Lake. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, total phosphorus concentrations as low as 50 parts per billion (ppb) were measured. Currently, total phosphorus concentrations in the Lake have been measured in the 100 ppb range. It is likely that historic in-lake turbidity was much lower than current conditions as well.
The CERP presents a new operational plan for the Lake that maximizes water storage opportunities, enhances wildlife populations, restores the ecological health of the Lake, and protects coastal estuaries and public health. ASR technology provides storage - an important component that will contribute to the overall Everglades restoration. The CERP includes the construction of up to 200 ASR wells (with associated pre- and post- treatment facilities) installed adjacent to Lake Okeechobee, with a total combined pumping capacity of 1 billion gallons of water per day. Specifically, the CERP states:
“The purpose of this feature is to: (1) provide additional regional storage while reducing both evaporation losses and the amount of land removed from current land use (e.g. agriculture) that would normally be associated with construction and operation of above-ground storage reservoirs; (2) increase the Lake's water storage capability to better meet regional water supply demands for agriculture, Lower East Coast urban areas, and the Everglades; (3) manage a portion of regulatory releases from the Lake primarily to improve Everglades hydropatterns and to meet regulatory discharges to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee Estuaries; and (5) [sic] maintain and enhance the existing level of flood protection.”
ASR technology is proposed as a significant storage component in the CERP, with the FAS acting as a large underground reservoir. The advantages of using ASR technology for these objectives include:
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Reduced costs compared with expensive, surface storage facilities
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Eliminates detrimental discharges to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries
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Nearly unlimited underground storage capacity eliminates water losses due to evapotranspiration and seepage
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Wells can be located in areas of greatest need, reducing water distribution costs
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Requires limited land acquisition
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Provides the ability to recover large volumes of water during severe droughts, presumably when reservoir levels would be low
These advantages are particularly important in South Florida where land acquisition costs are high, the availability of water is seasonal, and the underlying FAS are geographically extensive.
The South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force Working Group commissioned the development of an ASR Issue Team in 1998. The Team – consisting of members of the SFWMD, USACE, EPA, FDEP, USGS, other local governmental agencies, and private consultants – met to address the technical and regulatory uncertainties associated with the ASR technology and the scale at which it is proposed in the CERP. The ASR Issue Team identified seven (7) issues that should be addressed prior to full-scale implementation, as presented in their report (ASR Issue Team, July 1999). At least three (3) of these issues are regional in nature. While the ASR pilot projects themselves – including the subject Lake Okeechobee ASR Pilot Project – will not address all seven issues, they will provide valuable site-specific data, which can be used in the regional analyses (including model development) to address all seven issues. A more detailed discussion of the Issue Team items is contained in a subsequent section of this document.
The primary area of investigation for ASR implementation is the perimeter area around the northern rim of Lake Okeechobee, from the City of Moore Haven on the west to the City of Okeechobee to the north, to Port Mayaca on the east, as shown on Figure 2 [renumbered as Figure E-1 in this report]. The known occurrence of poorer quality water on the south side of the Lake due to EAA backpumping operations suggests that the remaining area along the Lake perimeter would be a secondary area of investigation.
The area of investigation adjacent to the Lake is characterized as lowland, at an elevation of between 10 to 20 feet above NGVD. Land use is primarily unimproved and improved pasture, wetlands, and occasional areas of planted field crops. State Road 441 runs along the northeast perimeter of the Lake, whereas State Road 78 runs along the northwest perimeter of the Lake.
The final locations and layout of the pilot ASR wells and monitor wells have not been determined at this time. Well siting must incorporate information regarding the proposed footprints of the pilot facilities and feasible conveyance systems to surface water bodies. Well locations and spacing will also be determined based on specific-capacity and aquifer test data obtained from the initial exploratory wells. For more information on the geologic and hydrogeologic setting of the Lake and the aquifers relevant to this project, the reader is referred to Section 4.
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WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE
Phase 1 – Initial Project Evaluations
The purpose of Phase 1 is to conduct a preliminary siting evaluation, hydrogeologic analyses, perform a permitting analysis, conduct a study to evaluate the fate of microorganisms in brackish aquifers, and to perform an engineering evaluation of alternatives for constructing the pilot project. The findings of the analyses performed during this phase of work will be included in the Pilot Project Design Report, which will be described in greater detail in a subsequent section of this document. Phase 1 activities are subdivided into the following tasks:
Task 1.1 – Land availability/preliminary siting
Subtask 1.1.1. GIS Data Compilation and Review.
Subtask 1.1.2. Detailed On-Site Evaluations.
Task 1.2 – Regional Hydrogeologic Studies
Task 1.3 – Desktop Fracture Analysis
Task 1.4 – Taylor Creek Well Evaluation
Task 1.5 Permitting Evaluation
Task 1.6 Fate of Microorganisms in Aquifers Study
Task 1.7 Engineering Evaluation
Phase 2 – Project Coordination and Public Outreach
Task 2.1 Design Coordination Team Meetings
Task 2.2 Project Delivery Team Meetings
Task 2.3 Independent Technical Review Team and CROGEE Meetings
Task 2.4 Public Outreach Meetings
Task 2.5 PMP Updates and Revisions
Task 2.6 Budget Updates/Revisions
Phase 3 – Surface Water Studies
This project phase focuses on the quality of the surface water in the Lake and its tributaries, and the quality and quantity of water that will be extracted from the ASR wells during recovery. An analysis will be also performed to assess the desired quality of water recovered from the systems, in terms of the requirements of the end users. In addition, pre- and post-treatment alternatives will be evaluated to determine the most cost-effective treatment technology given the source-and receiving water quality, and permitting requirements. The findings of the analyses performed during this phase of work will be included in the Pilot Project Design Report, which will be described in greater detail in a subsequent section.
Task 3.1 – Surface Water Availability Analysis
Task 3.2 – Source Water and Receiving Water Quality Analysis
Task 3.3 - Recovered Water Quality and Quantity Considerations
Task 3.4 – Treatment Alternatives Pilot Testing
Phase 4 - Groundwater Modeling
Groundwater modeling will primarily be conducted to evaluate regional effects of the proposed full-scale CERP ASR implementation on the FAS.
Geochemical modeling will be conducted to evaluate the potential for adverse geochemical reactions that could impair ASR performance. Phase 4 can be subdivided into the following tasks:
Task 4.1 – Data Acquisition
Task 4.2 – Conceptual Model Development
Task 4.3 – Finalized Conceptual Model, Computer Code Selection
Task 4.4 – Model Setup
Task 4.5 – Model Calibration
Task 4.6 – Predictive Simulations
Task 4.7 - Model Documentation Report
Task 4.8 – Geochemical Modeling
Phase 5 - Exploratory Wells
To obtain site-specific hydrogeologic information on the nature of the storage zone and FAS water quality, one exploratory well will be permitted, constructed and tested at each of three sites, corresponding to the confluence of major tributaries/estuaries with Lake Okeechobee. At this time, the three proposed locations for the exploratory wells are at the Town of Moore Haven (Caloosahatchee River), Kissimmee River, and Port Mayaca (St. Lucie Canal). The exploratory wells will be constructed with casings large enough to accommodate later installation of permanent pumping facilities and conversion via permitting to operational ASR systems. The activities anticipated during this phase of work are subdivided into the following tasks:
Task 5.1 – Well Design
Task 5.2 – Construction Permitting
Task 5.3 – Contractor Selection and Procurement
Task 5.4 – Well Construction and Testing
Task 5.5 Hydrogeologic/Engineering Report
Phase 6 -Project Development and Documentation
Task 6.1 Prepare Project Management Plan
Task 6.2 Problem Identification
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Task 6.3 Identification of Objectives and Constraints
Task 6.4 Pilot Project Design Report
Task 6.5 NEPA Compliance
Task 6.6 Pilot Project Design Report
Task 6.7 Project Cooperation Agreement
Task 6.8 Statute 1501 Process Documents
Task 6.9 Pilot Project Technical Data Report
Phase 7 - Well Re-Permitting and Construction
Upon completion of the exploratory well program and development of a strategy to permit the wells for operational use, it is anticipated that applications to convert the well classifications and construct surface facilities to inject into the wells will be filed with FDEP. This phase includes work tasks to perform the permit conversions and to design and construct the required new facilities.
This phase also includes the continued expansion of the pilot project, to include permitting and construction of a 3-well Cluster ASR facility at a new site, FAS and SAS monitor wells and surface facilities at all of the sites. The location of the new cluster facility will have been determined based on the results of the Task 1 Siting phase. Spacing of the wells at the new cluster facility will be based on the results of the exploratory well testing program. The anticipated work tasks included in this phase are:
Task 7.1 – Consultant Selection for Design/Construction Management
Task 7.2 – Final Surface Facility Design
Task 7.3. Water Use Permitting
Task 7.4. NPDES Permitting
Task 7.5. Exploratory Well Re-Permitting
Task 7.6 - Cluster Well Construction Permitting
Task 7.7 – Contractor Selection and Procurement
Task 7.8 – Well Construction
Task 7.9 – Hydrogeologic/Engineering Reports
Task 7.10 – Surface Facility Construction
Task 7.11 – Operation and Maintenance Manuals
Phase 8 - Cycle Testing
Cycle testing will be performed following construction of the exploratory/test wells the multi-well cluster, the FAS and SAS monitor wells, and associated surface facilities, under the UIC Construction Permits for the ASR systems. The purpose is to test the performance of the system, both mechanically and hydrogeologically. Before the system can be tested, however, several permits must be in place.
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Operational Testing Approval from FDEP (tied to the UIC Construction Permits)
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Water Use Permit (for withdrawal from the surface water body)
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WQCE and LAE or Chapter 120 Variance, if applicable (for recharge of partially treated surface water)
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NPDES (for discharge into the Lake, River or Canal)
It will be critical to have these permitting issues resolved in time so that cycle testing can be performed soon after the surface facilities are constructed. After a period of approximately one year of cycle testing, applications for operating the ASR systems on a continuing basis can be filed with the FDEP. Although FDEP has indicated that a minimum of two years of cycle testing data will be required for an operating permit, applications (and supporting documentation) will be prepared after the first year of testing. In this way, other permitting issues can be resolved concurrent with obtaining the second year of data. The tasks included in this phase are:
Task 8.1. Monitoring and Data Collection.
Task 8.2. Reporting During Cycle Testing.
Phase 9 – Operating Permit Applications
Task 9.1 - Operating Permit Applications
Phase 10 – Post Construction Activities
When cycle testing is completed and the operating permits are issued, the pilot project will be complete and final close-out of the project can commence. This section includes the tasks that will be necessary to finish the project. These tasks are:
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Notification of Physical Completion
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Transfer of District Operation and Maintenance Authority
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Final Real Estate Certification and Credits
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USACE Audit
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District Audit
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Prepare Transfer Documents
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Project Fiscal Complete
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Prepare Pilot Project Technical Data Report
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Submit PPTDR To SAD