Hydrologic Conditions in Florida during Water Year 2007

Record-high and record-low hydrologic conditions occurred during water year 2007 (October 1, 2006 September 30, 2007) based on analyses of precipitation, surface-water flows, lake elevations, and ground-water levels. For example, the streamgage at Suwannee River at White Springs in northwest Florida recorded an annual streamflow of 103 cubic feet per second during 2007, or about 6 percent of the period-of-record average since monitoring began in 1906. Lake Okeechobee in south Florida reached record-low elevations (8.82 feet on July 2) since monitoring began in 1912. Several wells throughout the State registered period-of-record lowest daily maximum water levels. Introduction This report summarizes hydrologic conditions throughout Florida during the 2007 water year—a record-setting year for high and low precipitation, surface-water flows, lake elevations, and ground-water levels. Except for some parts of south Florida, drought conditions (at a level from severe to abnormally dry) characterized the overall hydrologic conditions for Florida in 2007. Water-levels at Lake Okeechobee in south Florida reached record lows in 2007. Although ground-water levels at some sites were above normal during the 2007 water year, most ground-water levels throughout the state were below normal. Record-low annual streamflow conditions were reported at several streamgage locations. Historically, Florida has been divided into four geographic monitoring regions (fig. 1): northwest, northeast, southwest, and south. The locations of the monitoring stations used in this report are identified in figure 2. Data Compilation Prior to 1960, hydrologic data were published in various U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Water-Supply Papers and included water-related data collected by the USGS during the respective water year (October 1 to September 30). In 1961, a series of annual reports was introduced that published only surface-water data entitled “Water-Resources Data for Florida. ” In 1964, a companion report series was introduced for the purpose of publishing water-quality data. In 1975, the surfacewater and water-quality data reports were merged into a single annual volume and were expanded to include data for groundwater levels. These reports are listed at http://fl.water. usgs. gov/publications/bibliography/bibliography.html#S (go to the alphabetical listing of U.S. Geological Survey). Formal publication of the annual report series was discontinued at the end of the 2005 water year upon activation of the online Annual Data Report database website. This website facilitates the retrieval of data by hydrologic units or individual basins that cross State and county boundaries; additional retrieval options are available to obtain data for site locations of particular interest. National data for streamflow, lake and ground-water levels, and water quality for the 2007 water year are accessible to the public on the USGS Annual Data Report website at http://wdr.water. usgs.gov/ Current and historical data, which includes site information, daily values, statistics, and field measurements, are available for all monitoring sites on the online National Water Information website at http://waterdata.usgs.gov/fl/nwis/nwis. Incremental time-series data are available for many parameters (gage height, discharge, water temperature, specific conductance, and so forth) at many USGS stations. The evolution of electronic data loggers and computer systems has made storage and access to current and historical data possible. Visit the Instantaneous Data Archive at: http://ida.water. usgs.gov/ ida/index_usgs. cfm Funding for Data Collection in Florida Funding to provide hydrologic data to the public primarily comes from three sources: (1) the Federal water cooperative program, where the Federal government and State and local agencies share in the costs of a gage; (2) other Federal agency funds; and (3) the National Streamflow Information Program (NSIP). The NSIP provides some Federal funding for gages with the following critical interests: interstate and international waters, flood forecasts, river-basin outflows, sentinel watersheds, and water quality. The Federal Cooperative Water Program funds the majority of the data-collection stations in Florida through cost-sharing agreements with water-management districts, several State agencies, and many local county and municipal governments. Hydrologic Conditions in Florida during Water Year 2007 By Richard Jay Verdi, Stewart A. Tomlinson, Ronald B. Irvin, and David L. Fulcher 2 Hydrologic Conditions in Florida during Water Year 2007 Figure 1. Delineation of geographic monitoring regions in Florida.