Peer-Reviewed Article
The City of Lakeland’s Northeast Wellfield from Conceptualization to Production Authors
Charles W. Drake, PG, (pictured left) W. Bruce LaFrenz, PG, MEM-2035 (pictured center) W. Michael Dennis, Ph.D. (pictured right)
Abstract
This article describes the 30-year history of the City of Lakeland, Florida northeast wellfield from project conceptual- ization to production and continued monitoring. It also describes a multi-disciplinary approach to evaluation of causes of water-stress of on-site wetlands and the successful interpretation of causes and possible remedies. Implementation of restoration activities agreed between the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) and the City of Lakeland in 2007 allows the City to withdraw groundwater from a stable source of supply without harming nearby wetlands. The restoration project reversed hydrologic changes and harm caused by historical agricultural and silvicultural practices.
Introduction
The City of Lakeland is located in west-Central Florida (Figure 1); and in 1987 recognized that a supply of drinking water was needed in the eastern side of the City service area to supplement emergency supply and to meet system pressure requirements. The City’s first water supply wells had been constructed in the early 1900s, and with growth, the City had expanded its water distribution system and added new wells to increase supply and maintain adequate system pressure. Expansion from the original highlands areas toward the east had resulted in increasing differences in elevation and pres- sure within the water distribution system. The resulting distributed wellfield served adequately, but the residence time of the water in the potable water system and irregular system pressure concerns complicated management of the system. Between the mid-1970s and early 1980s the City constructed a new consolidated wellfield and improved the water distribu- tion system. In approximately 1980, the dispersed old wells were de-commissioned and the thirteen new Upper Floridan Aquifer (UFA) wells became the sole source for a new 54 mil- lion gallon per day (MGD) split treatment lime softening plant.
The UFA is part of the Floridan Aquifer System (FAS) and extends across all of Florida and into Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina: it is the major source of fresh water for potable, irrigation, and commercial/industrial use for Florida. Across the State, it ranges from unconfined to semi-confined to fully confined. A significant portion of the permeability (Budd and Vacher, 2004) is in secondary porosity (fractures and solution conduits), and most of the balance is in high-permeability lime- stone: consequently the UFA is a highly heterogeneous and anisotropic aquifer. It includes some of the most productive
aquifer zones in Florida and is the source of more than half Figure 1 - Location of City of Lakeland Wellfields. Combee well is permitted as part of the Northeast wellfield.
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