REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS NO. 42


This diversion was discussed in detail under sections describing
the Withlacoochee River and Hillsborough River basins.
 Other major interconnections of basins are near the Polk-Lake
County line (C-3) in the eastern part of the Green Swamp area.
The sand ridges in this area are dismembered by a transverse
network of swamps that connect the Withlacoochee River and Little
Creek basins. The alignment of the swamps and the relative widths
of the flood plains shown on aerial photographs indicate that, in
the former natural state, water carried to this area from the south
was discharged by either of three different routes-Big Creek,
Little Creek, or Withlacoochee River. The evidence indicates that
most of the drainage from the southeastern area ran off via Big
and Little creeks.
 Beginning about 1948 and continuing progressively each year,
extensive land reclamation by property owners has considerably
altered the pattern of drainage in the eastern area. These physical
changes, which were made for the development of the area,
apparently changed the proportion of the water that drained by
the three routes. Based entirely on the present pattern of drainage
canals and without any factual data on the streamflow from the
upper basins prior to the development of the area, it appears that
the most significant change has been a decrease in the area drained
by Little Creek and an increase in the area drained by the
Withlacoochee River.
 Major canals near the Polk-Lake County line were dug about
 1948 and 1949 and appear to have intercepted the greater part
 of the flow from an area of about 60 square miles that was formerly
 the headwaters of the Little Creek basin. This area is roughly 18
 miles long and 3 to 4 miles wide. It extends from the present
 southern divide of the Little Creek basin southward almost to the
 town of Lake Alfred. The greater part of the water from this area
 now drains to the Withlacoochee River. However, as discussed in
 the description of the Palatlakaha Creek basin, some flow still
 enters the Little Creek basin from its former headwaters. The
 changes in the drainage system predate streamflow records in the
 headwater basins. Therefore, the change in proportion of drainage
 between the two basins and the increased effectiveness of the
 drainage system may be inferred only on the basis of long-term
 streamflow records at downstream gaging stations. The runoff
 under present conditions, as compared with the runoff that occurred
 during the earlier years, is discussed under the heading "Effects
 of Man-Made Changes" in the following section.