Chesnut Park Managed Aquifer Recharge Well Drilling And Completion Of Subsurface Testing

The MAR test well (MAR-1) is proposed to be completed with 24-inch steel casing to approximately 600 feet below land surface (bls) and an open hole up to approximately 1,250 feet bls into the Avon Park Formation which will utilize the highly permeable unit described as the Avon Park high-permeability zone (APHPZ). The proposed monitoring system includes the existing monitoring wells completed into the overlying Suwannee Limestone permeable zone. These wells are storage zone monitor wells (SZMW) for the Chesnut ASR system and are therefore designated as SZMW-1 and SZMW-2. SZMW-2 will be within 150 feet of the MAR well and SZMW-1 will represent the approximate property boundary of the site which is owned by the County. One nominal 6-inch diameter monitor well designated MW-1. The well will be completed with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) casing to approximately 400 feet bls and open hole to approximately 430 feet bls to monitor the permeable unit above the bottom of the USDW. This well will only be constructed if required by FDEP and will be determined based on the hydrogeologic conditions encountered during the drilling of MAR-1.

Pinellas County Utilities (PCU) has historically sought to better serve our customers through innovative solutions to complex challenges. In 2007 PCU completed the construction of the ASR well in Chesnut Park, but that project was put on hold due to the economic downturn in 2008. In 2019, PCU completed a Feasibility Study to evaluate different solutions to the shortage of supplies of Reclaimed Water. The ASR well combined with the completed MAR well will recharge the upper Floridan aquifer with excess surface water from Lake Tarpon that otherwise would be discharged to upper Tampa Bay. The environmental benefits of this project include: 1) increased water levels in the upper Floridan aquifer within the Northern Tampa Bay Water Use Caution Area; 2) freshening of the deep aquifer underlying the wellfields in the area; and 3) mitigation of salt water intrusion by creation of a fresh water bubble / barrier within and under the USDW.