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Florida Science Centers Highlighted Science - 2009

USGS Report Quantifies Streamflow Losses within the Upper Peace River Watershed

The Peace River is one of the largest watersheds in Florida extending from central Florida's phosphate mining district to the southwest coast where it discharges into the Charlotte Bay estuary. The river serves as a drinking water supply for a growing population of downstream residents in southwest Florida.

Streamflow losses from the upper Peace River through sinkhole features have altered river flow patterns by capturing streamflow volume and diverting it into the ground water system. Depending on the hydrologic conditions, these features can capture the total river volume and cause the river to stop flowing downstream. Increased water use, land-use changes, and mining activities in the upper parts of the watershed have the potential to alter both the quantity and quality of water that makes its way downstream to communities and the productive estuarine ecosystem. To anticipate and plan for future changes in the region's watershed, the USGS report quantifies the streamflow losses within the streambed and floodplain and relates them to the hydrologic conditions of the area. The new USGS report was supported by the Southwest Florida Water Management District to help manage critical streamflow for ecosystems while preserving a sustainable water supply for the region.

Some of the largest measured losses in the upper Peace River floodplain were made at Dover sinkhole. A video clip shows river water gushing down holes and cracks as it fills the sinkhole with water during a rainfall event in 2006.

Learn More:

• Scientific Investigations Report 2009–5140 - Metz, P.A., and Lewelling, B.R., 2009, Hydrologic Conditions that Influence Streamflow Losses in a Karst Region of the Upper Peace River, Polk County, Florida: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5140, 82 p.
• Video of Dover Sinkhole capturing streamflow on June 12, 2006
• Bibliographies of previous USGS studies and report products organized by topic: Watershed, Geology, Hydrology, Hydrology-Potentiometric surface maps, Water Quality, Estuarine, Biology, Maps,
• Photo gallery of images illustrating the range in hydrologic conditions that exist through seasonal and annual variations in rainfall and groundwater levels.
• USGS Press Release