EVALUATION OF STORAGE AND BENEFICIAL REUSE ALTERNATIVES FOR SURFACE WATERS DISCHARGED FROM LAKE TARPON, FLORIDA

摘要

With a surface area of 4 square miles, Lake Tarpon is one of the largest natural lakes in west central Florida. To relieve periodic flooding in this historically closed basin, the construction of an outfall canal and control structure was completed in 1970. Subsequent static lake levels and watershed urbanization resulted in the degradation of shoreline vegetation, water quality, and sport fisheries. A watershed management plan completed in 1998 recommended the implementation of an enhanced lake level fluctuation schedule to restore fish habitat and water quality. It was estimated that this management action would result in the annual loss of over 1.8 billion gallons of water to tide. A subsequent feasibility study was conducted to evaluate the storage and beneficial reuse of surface waters discharged from Lake Tarpon. Aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) was determined to be the most feasible storage alternative; whereas the preferred beneficial reuse alternatives included lake dilution and flushing, and augmentation of the local reclaimed water supply. Four operational scenarios were developed including harvesting, storing, and recovering discharged surface waters.