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Comparison of Estimated Areas Contributing Recharge to Selected Springs in North-Central Florida by Using Multiple Ground-Water Flow Models

January 1, 2004

Areas contributing recharge to springs are defined in this report as the land-surface area wherein water entering the ground-water system at the water table eventually discharges to a spring. These areas were delineated for Blue Spring, Silver Springs, Alexander Springs, and Silver Glen Springs in north-central Florida using four regional ground-water flow models and particle tracking. As expected, different models predicted different areas contributing recharge. In general, the differences were due to different hydrologic stresses, subsurface permeability properties, and boundary conditions that were used to calibrate each model, all of which are considered to be equally feasible because each model matched its respective calibration data reasonably well. To evaluate the agreement of the models and to summarize results, areas contributing recharge to springs from each model were combined into composite areas. During 1993-98, the composite areas contributing recharge to Blue Spring, Silver Springs, Alexander Springs, and Silver Glen Springs were about 130, 730, 110, and 120 square miles, respectively. The composite areas for all springs remained about the same when using projected 2020 ground-water withdrawals.

Publication Year 2004
Title Comparison of Estimated Areas Contributing Recharge to Selected Springs in North-Central Florida by Using Multiple Ground-Water Flow Models
DOI 10.3133/ofr03448
Authors W. Barclay Shoemaker, Andrew M. O'Reilly, Nicasio Sepúlveda, Stanley A. Williams, Louis H. Motz, Qing Sun
Publication Type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Series Title Open-File Report
Series Number 2003-448
Index ID ofr03448
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse