WATER RESOURCES OF ORANGE COUNTY 67
Howell Creek
Howell Creek drains about 20 square miles in Orange County, mostly in the suburban areas of Maitland, Winter Park, and the northern half of Orlando. Altitudes in the Howell Creek basin range from about 55 to 125 feet.
This basin contains a chain of lakes connected by natural channels, canals, and culverts, beginning at Spring Lake at Orlando (station 42), at an altitude of about 88 feet and ending at Lake Maitland at Winter Park (station 28), at an altitude of about 66 feet. Several other lakes are connected to the chain of lakes by canals or culverts. Lake Underhill at Orlando (station 45), in the Boggy Creek basin, is connected to Lake Highland in the Howell Creek basin by a culvert.
The flow of Howell Creek near Maitland (station 50) has been measured several times. The maximum discharge of record as determined from the stage-discharge relation was about 160 cfs in September 1960. Flow at this site ceases when the level of Lake Maitland is below about 65.5 feet with the center board of the control out or about 66.0 feet with the center board in. The levels of many of the lakes in the basin are partly controlled by drainage wells and the flow from the basin is accordingly modified.
The average flow at station 50 is estimated to be 40 cfs or 2 cfs per square mile. Runoff is estimated to average about 27 inches per year; more than half of the average annual rainfall. This yield is much greater than elsewhere in the county despite the high percentage of area covered by lakes from which the loss by evaporation probably approaches the total rainfall on the lakes and water discharged to the aquifer through drainage wells. This high yield is due to the large percentage of area covered with pavement and roofs from which runoff is a high percentage of rainfall. Figure 31 shows estimated flow-duration curves for station 50. The percentages indicated are for the time the control was in one or the other of the conditions indicated and not for the total period of record. A record of board changes is not available, so a consolidated flow-duration curve cannot be prepared.
The water in Howell Creek and Lake Maitland are similar and are of good quality except for moderate hardness which indicates ground-water inflow. Hardness at high and low lake levels was 65 and 88 ppm, respectively. Table 8 gives ranges for other dissolved constituents and properties of the water in Lake Maitland.