A hydrologic assessment of the Everglades Nutrient Removal Project, a subtropical constructed wetland in South Florida (USA)

Abstract

The Everglades Nutrient Removal Project (ENRP), a 1544-ha constructed wetland in south Florida, was intensively monitored throughout its five-year operational history. Water budgets for the ENRP and each of its interior treatment cells were dominated by surface flows (≥85% of inflows; ≥68% of outflows) with smaller contributions from precipitation, evapotranspiration, groundwater flux, and change in storage. The mean water depth, hydraulic loading rate for surface water, and nominal hydraulic retention time for the entire wetland were 0.6 m, 3.1 cm d −1 and 17.7 d, respectively, and were comparable to values anticipated in design. The east flow-way was slightly shallower (∼0.2 m) and received proportionately more flow (61%) than the west flow-way. The hydrology of other treatment wetlands is often driven by surface flows. All treatment cells in the ENRP were to some extent hydraulically short-circuited. There was net groundwater inflow to the ENRP from Water Conservation Area 1 (WCA-1) resulting from significant head differences between these wetlands. Groundwater outflow to the adjacent farmlands was greatest in Cell 2 and substantially exceeded groundwater inflow. All hydrologic parameters exhibited seasonality to some extent; fluctuation in water depth and groundwater inflows corresponded with the seasonal change in stage in WCA-1. Errors in the ENRP and individual cell water budgets were generally less than 10% and within the range of errors for water budgets from other wetlands.