Geostatistics-based groundwater-level monitoring network design and its application to the Upper Floridan aquifer, USA.

A geostatistical method was applied to optimize an existing groundwater-level monitoring network in the Upper Floridan aquifer for the South Florida Water Management District in the southeastern United States. Analyses were performed to determine suitable numbers and locations of monitoring wells that will provide equivalent or better quality groundwater-level data compared to an existing monitoring network. Ambient, unadjusted groundwater heads were expressed as salinity-adjusted heads based on the density of freshwater, well screen elevations, and temperature-dependent saline groundwater density. The optimization of the numbers and locations of monitoring wells is based on a pre-defined groundwater-level prediction error. The newly developed network combines an existing network with the addition of new wells that will result in a spatial distribution of groundwater monitoring wells that better defines the regional potentiometric surface of the Upper Floridan aquifer in the study area. The network yields groundwater-level predictions that differ significantly from those produced using the existing network. The newly designed network will reduce the mean prediction standard error by 43% compared to the existing network. The adoption of a hexagonal grid network for the South Florida Water Management District is recommended to achieve both a uniform level of information about groundwater levels and the minimum required accuracy. It is customary to install more monitoring wells for observing groundwater levels and groundwater quality as groundwater development progresses. However, budget constraints often force water managers to implement cost-effective monitoring networks. In this regard, this study provides guidelines to water managers concerned with groundwater planning and monitoring.