Future development in, or future water policies relating to, this storage area may dictate its value as a source of supply or even as an equalizing basin for the flow of the Miami Canal. As a reservoir it could be improved with respect to capacity and storage characteristic by the placing of additional retention structures in existing canals, or it could be largely nullified by the opening or removal of the dams in the Miami and the South New River Canals.
Analyses indicate that water in the Miami Canal north of Dade-Broward County line dam is somewhat softer and contains less dissolved mineral matter than the Miami Canal at the water plant in Hialeah. However, as large withdrawals made from this section of the Miami Canal are replaced by water withdrawn from the ground water reservoir in the adjacent area, the water will probably increase in hardness and in dissolved mineral matter. Such increase is indicated by the analyses of samples of shallow ground water collected from observation wells in the area.