Pump Testing Boulder Zone Aquifer, South Florida

Abstract

Pumping tests were performed on a 3,200 ft (976 m) deep injection well tapping the Boulder Zone near Miami, Florida, as a part of the construction and testing of a deep well injection system for the proposed Miami‐Dade Water and Sewer Authority's South District Wastewater Treatment Plant. Testing included a step‐drawdown test and a constant‐rate withdrawal test. The stepdrawdown test was performed at rates of about 2,000 gpm (126 lps), 4,000 gpm (253 lps), and 6,000 gpm (379 lps). The constant‐rate withdrawal test was run at approximately 5,950 gpm (375 lps). Semi‐diurnal (tidal) water‐level fluctuation in the Boulder Zone is approximately 0.40 ft (0.12 m). The quality of the native ground water resembles that of seawater. The effects of the pumping were observed in two nearby deep wells. Transmissivity and storage coefficient of the Boulder Zone calculated from the observed time‐drawdown‐recovery data are about 184×106gpd/ft(2.2×106m2/day) and about 7.7×10-4, respectively.