Abstract
All three regional aquifer systems defined in Florida, the Floridan, Intermediate, and Surficial aquifer systems, occur beneath Lee County. There are more individual aquifers within these systems in the County than any other region of Florida. The Floridan Aquifer System is subdivided from the bottom to the top into the following aquifers: the Boulder Zone, the Avon Park Aquifer, the Ocala Aquifer, the Lower Suwannee Aquifer, the Upper Suwannee Aquifer, and the Lower Hawthorn Aquifer. The Intermediate Aquifer System contains three different aquifers, which are the lower zone of the Mid-Hawthorn Aquifer, the upper zone of the Mid-Hawthorn Aquifer, and the Sandstone Aquifer, that contains multiple production zones some of which could be defined as separate aquifers. The Surficial Aquifer System consists of the Lower Tamiami Aquifer and the water-table aquifer. All of the aquifers occurring beneath Lee County have unique hydraulic properties. Many of these aquifers have high transmissivities and yield significant quantities of water. The aquifers with the highest current use are the Lower Hawthorn Aquifer (for reverse osmosis treatment to public supply and irrigation), the Sandstone Aquifer (for public supply and irrigation) and the water-table aquifer (for irrigation and public supply). The geology, hydraulic characteristics, water quality, and potentiometric surface of each aquifer are summarized in this paper based on the current state of knowledge.