Winter Springs Well Field Vulnerability Analysis

race concentrations of volatile organic compounds were detected in three of Winter Springs’ seven water supply wells. Located in the western boundaries of the City, these wells provide 0.7 million gallons a day of potable water to the community. The City contracted E Sciences to provide hydrogeological assistance related to developing a well field program. Elements of this program included:

Project management and planning
Preparing a geographical information system (GIS) base map for the well field and areas immediately surrounding the well fields
Obtaining current and future land use information from Seminole County of the immediate area of the wells and locating these features on the GIS base map
Geo-referencing location of water supply wells using a handheld global positioning system (GPS) and including this information on the GIS base map
Ground water flow modeling to simulate capture area for the well field and execution of fate and transport simulations to estimate travel times of contaminants through the Floridan aquifer system
Performing field surveys to examine locations that pose a significant risk of impacting the City’s water supply wells and locating these areas on the GIS base map

This material was used to identify sites having a significant risk of impacting the City’s valuable water resources. The City the requested the involvement of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) Site Investigation Team to determine the source of these water quality impacts, and If sources are confirmed, require cleanup activities for restoration of the affected aquifer. An additional benefit of the program is to aid the City in establishing proactive steps for protection of their water resources, such as: zoning limitations inside the well field capture zones, community awareness of activities within well field capture zones, and formulating a monitoring program to provide advance warning of impacts of ground water prior to entering into well critical intake zone of the production well.