Groundwater Seepage data (Florida Keys)

Treated sewage is injected into the limestone under the Florida Keys via on-site disposal systems (OSDs). There are 25,000 septic tank systems, approximately 5,000 cesspools, and approximately 1000 class 5 injection wells.

Depths of injection wells ranges from 10 to 30 meters. Excessive algal growth, coral diseases and both marine grass and sponge mortality is perceived by the local population, NOAA, and EPA to be caused by sewage nutrients leaking from groundwater on both sides of the Florida Keys. Determining the rate and direction of saline groundwater movement beneath the Key, and the Florida Bay was considered critical to understanding the fate and effects of subsurface waste water disposal n the Florida Keys.