groundwater monitoring (continued)

As required by our water use permit, a comprehensive Environmental Management Plan (EMP) monitors the recovery of adjacent wetlands, lakes and other natural systems associated with the reduced pumping.  A standardized monitoring methodology was developed to ensure consistent evaluations of wetlands and lakes at each facility throughout the pumping cutback period.  If this long-term monitoring identifies systems that are not responding as expected to the reduced groundwater withdrawals, the EMP also provides for timely action to improve environmental conditions at those sites.

The lakes and wetlands near the Brandon Urban Dispersed Wells are also monitored under a separate EMP.  The monitoring program at the South-Central Hillsborough Regional Wellfield collects water level data from the Florida Aquifer.  It does not collect data from lakes and wetlands because groundwater pumping in this area has been proven to have no impact on lakes and wetlands.