Can We Restore the Magic of Our Springs?
by Bill Belleville
There are certain things that we know for sure about freshwater springs in Florida:
We have more of them than any other region in the world.
Our geologically young terrain with its terrestrial shoals of finely porous sand and its cellar of soft limerock set the stage for this hydrological theater.
Our water cycle, made busy by the warm climate and the surrounding seas, fuels this terrain with heavy rainfall.
The rain, turned mildly acidic by the atmosphere and the detritus of the earth, seeps into the limestone. There, it flows through fissures and bedding planes, enlarging them over time so that they become caverns and caves.
Gradually, the volume of the water flowing through these natural conduits accumulates. Under pressure from its tremendous weight, these underground streams find vulnerable places in the rock where they might finally surface as springs.
Then, the magic begins. Humans who visit springs — if only from their shores — often come away with the feeling that what they’ve seen is somehow beyond reality. The waters seem almost electric, as if they pulse with energy and light.
The water flowing from the ground turns into “bowls of liquid light” (Marjorie Stoneman Douglas) and “vast fountains of ether” (William Bartram). The water-filled veins of the aquifer feeding the springs become “caverns measureless to man” (Samuel Taylor Coleridge). The entire tableau of trees and transparent water and sunshine edges into “enchantment” (Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings).
We know some of the science of springs is based on gravity: Uplands recharge these flowing rivers in the limestone. The sheer “hydrostatic” weight of the water pushes it along through the rock, until it finds a vulnerable crack where it can emerge.
A half century ago, a visionary hydrologist by the name of Gerald Parker studied this phenomenon. He named this water storage system the “Floridan Aquifer,” and referred to it as Florida’s “underground rain barrel.”
Oddly, while the nature of Florida has become more familiar, this Aquifer is still largely unknown. We cannot accurately measure it as we would a surface river, bay or reservoir. This is startling, since we rely on this aquifer to fuel our springs — and, to supply clear, clean drinking water for 90 percent of our population.
We do know this: Many of our springs that have been studied show signs of degradation over the last two decades, declining both in magnitude and in water quality.
In East Central Florida, the Wekiva River system is recognized as an ecological treasure. Its economic value to our region is in many millions of dollars. The magic of its 30-plus springs is inestimable.
Although it’s one of the best protected rivers in the entire state, the spring-fed Wekiva is only as healthy as its recharge basin. The major springs feeding the river are now degraded because of pollutants that seep into the ground far upstream and upland of where the springs emerge.
As a result of heavy nitrates from lawn fertilizers and septic tanks, both Wekiwa and Rock Springs are now considered “Impaired” by Florida DEP. This means the “caverns measureless to man” are so filled with nitrates near the spring vents that the water emerging actually pollutes the river.
To regain an ecological balance, nitrates in these bowls of liquid light must be reduced by about 80 percent for both springs. How can this be accomplished ? Should strategies to clean up the springs be mandatory? Or should they rely on the ethic of the property owner to act as a good “steward”? Give us your opinion.
