Due to Florida’s ever growing population, the Floridan Aquifer has fallen victim to excessive groundwater pumping and nutrient pollution. This has led to reduced spring flows and excessive algae growth in our springs. We developed the Blue Water Audit to estimate and visualize the impact of human activities on the aquifer.

Using existing data from a variety of sources, the Blue Water Audit has developed nitrogen loading and groundwater withdrawal estimates. These estimates are used to assign an Aquifer Footprint. An Aquifer Footprint is made up of a right footprint (nitrogen loading) and a left footprint (groundwater withdrawal).