Simulating flow in regional wetlands with the modflow wetlands package

As part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), various wa ter supply projects have been proposed in a region located between the Miam i metropolitan area and the extensive regional wetland systems that are par t of the Everglades or remnant Everglades. A ground water flow model of the surficial aquifer within northern Miami-Dade County was constructed using MODFLOW to evaluate the effects of these projects on water levels in the we tlands and the underlying surficial aquifer. The new Wetlands package was u sed to conjunctively simulate overland flow through these wetlands and the shallow ground water system. Comparisons of simulated to measured ground wa ter levels and wetland stages were very satisfactory, where computed and me asured water levels agreed within 0.5 ft over most of the period of record at nearly all of the monitoring sites. Temporal trends in water levels were also replicated. It was concluded that the assumptions and methodologies i nherent to the Wetlands package were suitable for simulating regional wetla nd hydrology within the Everglades area.