The purpose of the seepage management pilot is to determine the appropriate technology needed to control levee seepage flow across L-31N canal adjacent to Everglades National Park (ENP) and provide the appropriate amount of wet season groundwater flow that will minimize potential impacts to the Miami-Dade County's West Wellfield and freshwater flows to Biscayne Bay. A seepage management feature located along L-31N would reduce some seepage as proposed in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, but the L-31N site is located in an area that may be modified, which could render it less useful for long term affects. 

There are similar issues regarding levee seepage along the southern portion of L-30 canal adjacent to Water Conservation Area 3B (WCA-3B). A seepage management feature along the L-30 levee would help reduce seepage lost from WCA-3B, which in turn will reduce water flowing farther south into the L-30/L-31N system. Field tests, seepage reports, and historical data have independently shown the L-30 levee north of U.S. Highway 41 as having a higher seepage rate than L-31N. Pilot project monitoring and data gathering at the new project location – along the southern portion of the L-30 levee – will provide essential information needed to further address uncertainties prior to recommending full-scale implementation of seepage management measures adjacent to WCA-3B and ENP.