The availability of good-quality water drives everything we do. Our Water Resources team has been helping clients identify, develop, and permit water supplies for over four decades. Our projects range from public supply wellfields to citrus groves, sports complexes to residential developments—and everything in between. Services for new site development may include hydrogeological investigations, wellfield design and permitting, and construction observation. Services for established projects could entail permit renewals, mechanical integrity testing for injection wells, and water supply facilities work plans for local governments. We can also help our clients develop alternative water supply sources and apply for funding opportunities.
What We Provide
Hydrogeological investigations provide information about the availability and quality of groundwater at a project site, and they help clients make decisions about the best uses of their water resources. Our team specializes in hydrogeological investigations that may include the construction of one or more wells 10 feet to 1,000 feet deep; testing of an aquifer’s hydraulic properties through pumping tests, slug tests, and constant or falling head tests; water quality sampling and analyses; and geophysical logging. We will design, implement, and oversee the best testing program to collect data for water supply system design and to assist in regulatory permitting.
Whether it’s a golf course development, a thousand-acre agricultural project, or a smaller commercial site, all projects must identify sources of water to meet their demands, whether for potable, irrigation, or other use. Our team draws upon a wealth of in-house and publicly available resources to determine the most economical, reliable, and best-quality source of water for a project. Sources may range from utility water to groundwater, surface water to seawater desalination—or a combination of multiple sources—depending on the project’s location and particular requirements. The results of the assessment can be used to assist in system design and regulatory permitting.
Day in, day out our team coordinates with local, state, and federal agencies on an array of water supply projects, and has worked on 1,000+ permit applications over the past three decades. We’ve renewed irrigation permits for small developments and obtained new public water supply permits for regional utilities. We’ve permitted mining and construction dewatering, deep injection wells, limited use public supply systems, and everything in between. As a result, we understand the agencies and their rules, and can permit projects quickly and economically. We stay current on permit rule development and update clients on policy changes that could impact their projects.
Not all wells are created equal. A good design is vital to achieving optimal well yield and water quality, as well as minimizing O&M costs over the life of a water supply system. Our team specializes in innovative well design for complex systems, drawing on the experience of our in-house water well contractors. We have designed systems capable of pumping 10 gpm from a single well up to 10 mgd from dozens of wells and multiple aquifers. We can develop plans and specifications for well rehabilitation, abandonment, acidization, back-plugging, mechanical scrubbing, lining, and casing repairs—all designed to improve water quality and increase well efficiency.
The State of Florida recognizes the importance of water supply planning on both project and regional scales. This effort falls not only on the State agencies, but also on counties, local governments, and developers. This may include evaluating water supply as part of a comprehensive plan or zoning application, or preparing a 10-Year Water Supply Facilities Work Plan for a city. We can assess the most sustainable and economical water sources to accommodate future growth and prepare conceptual system designs. For both new and existing systems, we can identify infrastructure improvements and financing options to best serve our clients’ long- and short-term goals.
Permitting a new project, or even renewing an existing permit, often requires some form of modeling to demonstrate that water use will not adversely impact surrounding properties or natural systems. Modeling can also be a powerful tool in designing wellfield and assessing the potential for water quality changes over time. This helps ensure optimal function of water supply systems and aids in management decisions. The right model for a project may be a simple analytical spreadsheet calculation, or a multi-layer, calibrated numerical model with solute transport. Our team understands which approach will work best for which project, and can develop scientifically defensible models for any number of scenarios.
Deep well injection is commonly used in South Florida to dispose of waste streams, such as concentrate from reverse osmosis treatment. Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) involves injecting and storing excess water in an aquifer then recovering it for later use. Design, permitting, and mechanical integrity testing (MIT) of these wells require an intimate knowledge of local hydrogeology and well construction techniques. Our team has assisted in permitting, design, and MITs for these systems. Our extensive experience with well construction, geophysical logging, and hydraulic testing allows us to successfully resolve problems encountered during well construction and MITs, and interact effectively with regulatory staff.
As freshwater supplies become more limited, regulators have placed greater emphasis on development of alternative water supplies and may provide incentives for their use. Our team can help identify and develop alternative water supplies for both new and existing projects. Alternative water supply sources may include reclaimed water, tailwater recovery, and brackish groundwater, as well as the use of ASR. We help clients determine which option best meets their needs in terms of cost, storage, and seasonal availability. Such services may include technical and financial feasibility assessments, system design and permitting, assistance with funding opportunities, and construction observation and administration.