FAVA Conceptual Model: Floridan Aquifer System

In cooperation with other FDEP programs and the water management districts, a new statewide digital elevation model (DEM) has been developed at a 15m resolution. The following is a link to Newly created statewide FAVA GIS data coverage's.

A small example (right) from Baker County illustrates how well the new DEM matches the US Geological Survey (USGS) 1:2400 maps.

Based on this new DEM, we have attributed and extracted closed hatchured depressions, which serve as a surrogate for karst features:

• Complete aquifer vulnerability assessment models for:



1. Florida’s three principal aquifer systems (statewide): the Floridan Aquifer System, the Intermediate Aquifer System and the Surficial Aquifer System [this project is the Florida Aquifer Vulnerability Assessment – FAVA, which is developed through an MOA with FDEP/DWRM]
2. Alachua County
3. Wekiva River Basin
4. Sand and Gravel Aquifer (planned)
5. Biscayne Aquifer (planned)
• Development, refinement or attribution of statewide hydrogeological GIS coverages:
  (Contact Alan Baker (alan.baker@dep.state.fl.us) for availability of these coverages. Please include in your requests the model (FAVA, WAVA, ACAVA, etc.) and the layers by the names listed below.)
  
  
  1. Depth to water table
  2. Intermediate Aquifer System thickness and overburden (further refinement planned)
  3. Top of the Floridan Aquifer System
  4. Soil permeability
  5. 15 m digital elevation model used to delineate closed topographic depressions – a surrogate for karst feature density
  6. Hydraulic head difference between Surficial and Floridan Aquifer System
  7. Environmental Geology
• Application of neural net and fuzzy logic modeling techniques to assess aquifer vulnerability
• Statewide sinkhole probability model (planned)

A statewide water-table elevation model was calculated using well data, USGS topographic maps and the new DEM. The model also takes into account Florida's physiographic provinces and is based on a technique developed by the USGS.