The Ocklawaha’s Lost Springs

Post author:flspringsinst
Post published:October 21, 2019
Post category:Bob Knight Education Op-ed
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One or more Florida legislators, yet unnamed, have the enviable opportunity to undo the tragic mistake of a previous generation and be lauded as Florida Springs Champions. With bipartisan support in the house and senate appropriations committees, these champions are uniquely positioned to convince the 2020 legislature and Governor DeSantis to do what no other legislature/governor in the past 50 years has been willing or able to do – restore the 20 Lost Springs of the Ocklawaha…

No Time to Cry for Dying Springs

Post author:flspringsinst
Post published:September 30, 2019
Post category:Bob Knight Education Events Op-ed Springs Outings
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Saturday, September 7th, the Florida Springs Institute (FSI) and Kings of the Springs (KOTS) environmental non-profits came together to host a Springs Outing on the Chassahowitzka River in southern Citrus County. Chassahowitzka springs are christened with names like Seven Sisters, Crab Creek, Potter, the Crack, Betteejay, and more. The “Chaz”, as regulars and locals call it, is a little-known but locally popular hangout on hot summer days. With its rope swings, wildlife, and swim-through caves it’s no…

Springs Outing: Remarkable Karst Features Near High Springs

Post author:flspringsinst
Post published:May 28, 2019
Post category:Education Springs Outings Springs Science
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The May 2019 FSI outing explored three distinct and impressive karst features all located within five miles of the Florida Springs Institute High Springs office, including: the Santa Fe River Rise in O’Leno State Park; Scrubtown Sink, a giant sinkhole used as a dump; and a little known Ichetucknee-like karst valley with an extinct headspring, rocky walls, caves, and park-quality forest. We started the day at the rather unspectacular River Rise, which is the second largest dark…

Closeup shot of a man pouring a glass of fresh water from a kitchen faucet

Too Polluted to Drink

Post author:flspringsinst
Post published:November 15, 2018
Post category:Bob Knight Drinking Water Education Health Op-ed Springs Science
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For too many families, North Florida’s once pristine groundwater may be unsafe to drink. One nasty pollutant is nitrate, a principal ingredient in synthetic agricultural and urban fertilizers, and in animal manure and human waste. In the past 100 years of rapid development, the ambient concentration of nitrate throughout the Floridan Aquifer has risen from a baseline concentration of less than 0.05 parts per million (ppm) to 1 ppm, a 20-fold increase. As with most environmental variables,…

Blue Water Audit

Post author:Angeline Meeks
Post published:November 7, 2018
Post category:Education Springs Science Uncategorized
Post comments:2 Comments

We all have an impact on the Floridan Aquifer. Learn more about your impact with the Project Overview The Floridan Aquifer is the principal source of water for natural and human systems throughout much of Florida. In addition to being Florida’s primary source of drinking water, the Floridan Aquifer feeds over 1,000 springs. Florida’s population has grown from less than 1 million in the early 1900s, to over 18 million in 2010, according to the U.S. Census.…