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Subsurface storage of liquids in the Floridan aquifer system in south Florida

Open-File Report 88-477
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https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr88477

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Abstract

The Floridan aquifer system in south Florida is composed chiefly of carbonate rocks that range in age from early Miocene to Paleocene. The top of the Floridian aquifer system generally occurs at depths ranging from 500 to 1,000 ft, and the average thickness is about 3,000 ft. It is divided into three general hydrogeologic units that include Upper Floridan aquifer, the middle confining unit, and the Lower Floridan aquifer. Groundwater movement in the Upper Floridan aquifer is generally from the area of highest head in central Florida, eastward to the Straits of Florida, westward to the Gulf of Mexico, and, to a much lesser extent, southward. Injection of nontoxic liquid wastes into deep, saline parts of the Floridan aquifer system as a pollution-control measure began in 1943 with injection of oilfield brine in southwest Florida. Since then, the practice has quickly expanded, and many high capacity municipal and industrial injection wells are now in operation in southeast Florida. The principal use of the Floridan aquifer system in south Florida is for subsurface storage of liquid waste. The Boulder Zone of the Lower Floridan aquifer is extensively used as a receptacle for injected treated municipal wastewater, oilfield brine and, to a lesser extent, industrial wastewater. Pilot studies indicate a potential for cyclic storage of freshwater in the Upper Floridan aquifer in south Florida. (USGS)
Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Subsurface storage of liquids in the Floridan aquifer system in south Florida
Series title Open-File Report
Series number 88-477
DOI 10.3133/ofr88477
Edition -
Year Published 1989
Language ENGLISH
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey ; Copies available from Books and Open-File Reports Section,
Description 25 p. ill. ;28 cm.
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