Florida’s “Springs Heartland” covers an estimated 5,664 square miles of the Suwannee River Basin. Plentiful rain falling on porous karst geology collects and feeds groundwater to more than 300 artesian springs. These springs feed life-nourishing groundwater to the Suwannee River - immortalized in song and legend. And yet, the Suwannee River is now listed as one of the Ten Most Endangered Rivers in the United States. How did we allow this tragedy? At the beginning of the…

By Haley Moody Director, Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute Published in the Invading Sea on March 5, 2026 As the artificial intelligence boom continues at a rapid pace, are Floridians aware of the potential impacts to our state? Now is the time to raise as much public awareness as we can about this impending threat to Florida’s water. In the past year, we have seen proposals for data centers in Florida with varying degrees of support. Although…

By Robert L. Knight, Ph.D. President of the Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute Dairies as an Existential Threat to Springs and Humans The private, non-profit Florida Springs Institute assessed north Florida dairies as a source of pollution to the Floridan Aquifer and artesian springs (https://floridaspringsinstitute.org/reports/). Ongoing monitoring of public and private supply wells, and the region’s springs and rivers, is documenting severe nitrogen pollution that is impairing ecological and human health. The typical Florida dairy cow…