Summary of hydrologic data collected during 1976 in Dade County, Florida

During 1976 rainfall was 1.58 inches below the long-term average. Ground-water levels ranged from 0.4 foot above to 0.5 foot below average. The highest and lowest ground water for the year were both 1 foot below their long-term averages. In the Hialeah-Miami Springs area, water levels in wells near the centers of the heaviest pumping ranged from 8.0 to 9.5 feet below msl (mean sea level, 1929); and in the southwest well-field area, ground-water levels near the centers of pumping ranged from 2.0 feet above to 3.0 feet below msl. The combined average daily discharge from nine major streams and canals that flow eastward into tidal waters was 1,666 cubic feet per second (cfs), 609 cfs above the combined average daily flow for the 1975 water year. The combined average daily flow through the Tamiami Canal outlets was 783 cfs, 215 cfs above that of the 1975 water year. The 1976 position of the salt fron in the coastal part of the Biscayne aquifer was about the same as in 1975 except in the vicinity of Mowry Canal south of Homestead Air Force Base where the salt front had encroached farther inland. (Woodard-USGS)