Ground-Water Conditions in the Lower Withlacoochee River - Cross-Florida Barge Canal Complex Area.

摘要

Construction of the westernmost seven-mile reach of the Cross Florida Barge Canal which intersects the lower Withlacoochee River nine miles above its mouth, began in 1965 and completed in 1969. The river channel and the canal penetrate the cavernous limestone of the Floridan Aquifer below the water table. Ground-water levels in a 15-square mile area centered at the canal about 4.5 miles from the Gulf of Mexico are 0.5 foot-15 feet lower than had the canal not been built. In another 0.7 square-mile area surrounding the Inglis Lock bypass channel the ground-water level has been raised 0.5 foot-20 feet above the pre-canal level. The average ground-water contribution to the flow of the lower river is 20%. The fresh water-salt water zone of diffusion in the aquifer tends to rise in the area where the ground-water levels have been lowered.