DHI, in collaboration with the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) has successfully developed a new state-of-the-art real-time hydrologic modeling system. This system provides real-time monitoring and modeling information for the western urban area of the Big Cypress Basin, Florida, to the District’s water managers for making critical operational decisions. This region has a unique hydrological regime with alternating floods and droughts, close interaction between surface water and ground water, and a complex managed drainage network with many control structures. What makes this real-time modelling system unique is that it combines real-time information from the SFWMD SCADA system with integrated surface water-groundwater modelling in an operational environment. This system has the potential to predict the future behaviour of both the surface water and groundwater flows and levels when forecasted rainfall is available.
Photograph courtesy of Claus Skotner
"We see this as a major step towards the operational management, in real-time, of all aspects of water resources and water quality within a hydrological basin", says Michael Butts, Head of Innovation, DHI. "The South Water Management District is internationally recognised for promoting and embracing cutting edge methods for water and environmental management. Their reaction to this project at the completion of phase 1 was 'This is the future!'". The next phase of this project is already underway.
The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) manages and protects the state's water resources on behalf of 7.5 million South Floridians and is the lead agency in restoring America's Everglades – the largest environmental restoration project in US history. Many of the projects to restore and protect the Everglades ecosystem are part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). The strategic location of Collier County, which includes the Big Cypress Basin, its subtropical climate and the unique hydrology make it vulnerable to floods and droughts in regular cycles. Added to the physical complexity are the conflicting needs of the ecosystem for protection and restoration, versus the substantial urban development with the accompanying water supply, water quality and flood control issues.
Photograph courtesy of the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD)
Location of the Big Cypress Basin Florida
For these reasons many models have been developed within the South Florida Water Management District using DHI’s integrated hydrological and hydraulic modelling tool MIKE SHE. MIKE SHE combines the powerful capabilities of MIKE 11 for modelling the channel flows and structure operations with the comprehensive hydrological modelling of the rainfall-runoff process in MIKE SHE. DHI models based on MIKE SHE/MIKE11 have been applied to a number of local studies throughout the Florida region including the Big Cypress Basin.
Data displays using Google Earth
The Big Cypress Basin includes 272 km of primary canals and 46 water control structures located throughout the area that provide limited levels of flood protection, as well as water supply and environmental quality. Since the early 1980’s the Big Cypress Basin has adopted an aggressive programme to upgrade the water control structures and modify several canals to achieve better water management. At the same time, more and more information is becoming available on-line including both water levels in the channels, groundwater levels and structure positions. Using this on-line information, operational staff have access up-to-the minute information regarding the status of their basin. Customised displays of information make it possible to get a rapid overview of the situation. Furthermore, introducing real-time modelling makes it possible to simulate the future behaviour of the basin based on current conditions and use this for operational decision making.