Reservoir Modeling

 Mathematical models are relied upon heavily for engineering design. They

provide a prediction of the systems behavior for a given set of design or decision

variables. These models strive to answer what if questions of the designer and if

optimized can answer the question of what is best. Models are used to answer three

fundamentally different types of questions (Hazelrigg 1996):

* Will the system work as designed?
* Which of the system alternatives are better?
* Do I properly understand the system?

 To develop a model for the EAASR that focuses on the second question, which of

the system alternatives is better, a review of water quality models was performed. The

review included reservoir and lake models that have been developed and calibrated for

the South Florida region. Results of the review are documented next.

Water Quality Models

 The relatively shallow, actively controlled EAASR is more comparable to a lake

or shallow reservoir system than a traditional reservoir. The general framework for both

water quantity and quality models for lake or shallow reservoirs are well developed

(Chapra 1996). Chapra and Auer (1999) reviewed management models to evaluate

phosphorus loads in lakes. They classified phosphorus models in three general

categories; empirical models, simple budget models, and nutrient food-web models.

 Empirical models can be divided into phosphorus loading plots and trophic

parameter correlations. Phosphorus loading plots are used to estimate the trophic level of

the lake, or when linked to a simple balance model can predict in-lake total phosphorus

concentrations. Trophic parameter correlations normally relate two trophic parameters or

can be used in tandem with phosphorus loading plots. The main advantage of empirical