Category Archives: Springs

Clean Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers and Poe Springs, but algae 2026-07-29

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The Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers again tested clean for E. coli in the results we have for this week. So did Poe Springs, but with much algae.

No new sewage spills were reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida or Georgia.

According to the results we have, happy paddling, swimming, fishing, and boating, before the rains starting tomorrow afternoon.

This image is an illustration. Scroll down for the details.

[Clean Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers and Poe Springs, but algae 2026-07-29]
Clean Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers and Poe Springs, but algae 2026-07-29

Follow this link for the WWALS composite spreadsheet of water quality results, rainfall, and sewage spills in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia and Florida:
https://wwals.net/issues/testing/#results

The image below is a current excerpt from that spreadsheet. Continue reading →

Farms, Forests, Flows & Fish: Exploring Possible Futures for the Suwannee River Watershed and Estuary, WWALS Webinar 2026-10-19

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Dr. David Kaplan and Dr. Wendy Graham, both of the University of Florida, will present an online WWALS Webinar:

Noon to 1 PM, Monday, October 19, 2026

Register here to attend by zoom:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/KPoObaVMRammKk6dKYyI0Q

You can mark going on this facebook event to encourage others to attend:

https://www.facebook.com/events/2165192244412437/

WWALS Events Committee Member Hailey Hall will introduce the speakers, who will speak for about 45 minutes, followed by questions and answers.

The Suwannee River watershed supports one of the world’s largest spring systems, productive estuarine ecosystems, working agricultural and forest landscapes, and communities whose livelihoods depend on healthy water resources. Understanding how future changes in climate and land use will affect these interconnected systems is critical for informed management and conservation.

[Farms, Forests, Flows & Fish: Exploring Possible Futures for the Suwannee River Watershed & Estuary, a WWALS Webinar 2026-08-19]
Farms, Forests, Flows & Fish: Exploring Possible Futures for the Suwannee River Watershed & Estuary, a WWALS Webinar 2026-08-19

This presentation will highlight results from a large interdisciplinary research project that coupled hydrologic, estuarine ecological, and economic models to evaluate a range of plausible future scenarios for the Suwannee River watershed and estuary. Using a landscape-scale groundwater-surface water model, we examined how alternative land-use futures—including agricultural expansion, forest restoration, conservation planning, and urban growth—interact with projected climate change to influence groundwater recharge, river flows, nitrate transport, estuarine water quality, fisheries, and regional economic outcomes.

Rather than attempting to predict a single future, this scenario-based approach explores Continue reading →

Sturgeon and the Suwannee River, WWALS Webinar, Ken Sulak and Christiaan Ard 2026-09-22

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Hear two experts talk about half an hour of above and underwater pictures and video footage that Ken Sulak and Chris Getlinger captured this past spring.

What better way to celebrate the Autumnal Equinox?

It’s online by zoom, noon to 1 PM, Tuesday, September 22, 2026.

Register to join the zoom:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/o02HNIbuSaOXTx7hP4Sriw

Encourage others to join by marking going on this facebook event:

https://www.facebook.com/events/1758099698528493

[Sturgeon and the Suwannee River, WWALS Webinar by Zoom, Ken Sulak and Christiaan Ard, Noon-1 PM, Tuesday, 2026-09-22]
Sturgeon and the Suwannee River, WWALS Webinar by Zoom, Ken Sulak and Christiaan Ard, Noon-1 PM, Tuesday, 2026-09-22

Ken Sulak says fall is an appropriate time to talk about sturgeon, because, “Sturgeon spawning this spring was likely a total failure due to the drought and then rapid warming of the river. But 20% of the population, a genetically distinct portion, is adapted to spawn in October-November as the river cools below 25 C. Good time to talk again about sturgeon migration and spawning—and the potential impact of naturally-occurring low river levels, exacerbated by excessive withdrawals.”

Ken Sulak described his video footage:

Over the course of approximately eight weeks, we were fortunate enough to be able to capture the ancient and enigmatic, Gulf sturgeon during their annual spawning migration up the Suwannee River. A journey that takes them up river 120 miles Continue reading →

Clean Withlacoochee River, Sugar Creek, and Santa Fe River 2026-07-22

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Update 2026-09-31: Clean Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers and Poe Springs, but algae 2026-07-29.

The Withlacoochee River, Sugar Creek, and the Santa Fe River again tested clean in the results we have for this week.

No new sewage spills were reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida or Georgia.

According to the results we have, happy paddling, swimming, fishing, and boating, before the rains starting tomorrow afternoon.

This image is an illustration. Scroll down for the details.

[Clean Withlacoochee River, Sugar Creek, and Santa Fe River, 2026-07-22]
Clean Withlacoochee River, Sugar Creek, and Santa Fe River, 2026-07-22

Follow this link for the WWALS composite spreadsheet of water quality results, rainfall, and sewage spills in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia and Florida:
https://wwals.net/issues/testing/#results

The image below is a current excerpt from that spreadsheet. Continue reading →

Paddle Big Shoals to Suwannee Wayside Park, Suwannee River 2026-08-01

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Join WWALS for a 6 mile paddle from Big Shoals State Park to Suwannee Wayside Park in White Springs.

This paddle may not be appropriate for beginners due to the bumpy stretch of low, Little Shoals to navigate through. Be prepared to portage your kayak 400 feet around Big Shoals. If you have light wheels for your kayak, they will be handy for the portage. Wear shoes appropriate for slippery rocks.

Along the way are the remains of Old Godwin Bridge, the outflow of Bell Springs, a second magnitude spring in Columbia County, and Falling Creek, plus some other creeks.

When: Gather 9 AM, launch 10 AM, end 2 PM, Saturday, August 1, 2026

Put In: Big Shoals Tract Launch, From White Springs, travel north on CR 135 to SE 94 Street (Godwin Bridge Road); turn right and follow road to Big Shoals, in Hamilton County, Florida.

GPS: 30.3529705, -82.6879375

[Paddle Big Shoals to Suwannee Wayside Park, Suwannee River, Saturday, August 1, 2026]
Paddle Big Shoals to Suwannee Wayside Park, Suwannee River, Saturday, August 1, 2026

Continue reading →

Has one fat lady sung about WFNF? @ SJRWMD 2026-07-14

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This sounds definitive, “Don’t parse my words or anything like that. We’re not moving forward with Water First. All right? We’re not moving forward with Water First.”

That’s Rob Bradley, Chair of the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) Governing Board, at about 1:44:41 in SJRWMD’s video of their July 14, 2026, board meeting.

[Has one fat lady sung about WFNF? @ SJRWMD 2026-07-14, No word on cancelled contracts]
Has one fat lady sung about WFNF? @ SJRWMD 2026-07-14, No word on cancelled contracts

But right before that, he said, “I don’t know what will happen in the future. Maybe something will be reconstituted in some way shape or form.”

And right after he said “We’re not moving forward with Water First,” he also said, “That doesn’t mean that five years from now or three years from now or whatever, that some technology doesn’t come along that people who were concerned about it, it makes people less concerned about it. I think that technology is going in the right direction. We’ll see how it goes. And, um, and here we are.”

He also called anybody who thinks desalination is the answer “insane”, thus disparaging the elected Boards of County Commissions of a dozen counties in the Suwannee District, not to mention the Governor of Florida. He offered no evidence for his opinion. Since Rob Bradley was a Florida State Senator until he was term-limited in 2020, maybe insulting all the elected officials of the area he says he wants to help and the governor who appointed him to the SJRWMD board is some clever political ploy that I don’t understand.

Chair Bradley also called for public discussion, which of course I support. But he made no mention of SRWMD and SJRWMD’s one attempt at a very disappointing “Open House”. And he called for the same clique of utilities and WMDs to come up with another plan, with no mention of public input, just like the path that led to WFNF and massive public opposition.

More about those things below. We can keep depending on JEA and the WMDs to come up with political disasters like WFNF, or we can call on the legislature to provide better legal guidance and to reform the WMDs. It’s an election year. Ask every candidate about these things.

For much more about WFNF, see https://wwals.net/issues/wfnf

Five or Three Years from Now

As for “five years from now or three years from now”, three years from now is about when the contractors SJRWMD hired in November 2025 are supposed to finish their first Project Milestones. Continue reading →

Withlacoochee River 2026-07-13 and Sugar Creek and Santa Fe River 2026-07-15

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Update 2026-07-24: Clean Withlacoochee River, Sugar Creek, and Santa Fe River 2026-07-22.

The Withlacoochee River, Sugar Creek, and the Santa Fe River tested clean in the results we have for this week.

So did Poe Springs for Wednesday, even though Alachua County closed its swimming area Thursday due to “due to poor water clarity.”

No new sewage spills were reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida or Georgia.

According to the results we have, happy paddling, swimming, fishing, and boating, before the rains starting tomorrow afternoon.

This image is an illustration. Scroll down for the details.

[Clean Withlacoochee 2026-07-13, OK Sugar Creek 2026-07-15, Clean Santa Fe 2026-07-15, Happy paddling, swimming, etc.]
Clean Withlacoochee 2026-07-13, OK Sugar Creek 2026-07-15, Clean Santa Fe 2026-07-15, Happy paddling, swimming, etc.

Follow this link for the WWALS composite spreadsheet of water quality results, rainfall, and sewage spills in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia and Florida:
https://wwals.net/issues/testing/#results

The image below is a current excerpt from that spreadsheet. Continue reading →

Datacenter Moratorium Proposed –Madison County BOCC 2026-07-08

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Update 2026-07-23: Madison County BOCC passed the datacenter moratorium 4:0.

Update 2026-07-18: fixed name of county in title.

On July 22, 2026, a datacenter moratorium comes up for second reading at the Madison County, Florida, Board of County Commissioners, when they can also vote to pass it.

They already read it once on July 8, after working on it for some time before that.

[Datacenter Moratorium Proposed, Hamilton County BOCC, First Reading 2026-07-08, Second Reading & Vote 2026-07-22]
Datacenter Moratorium Proposed, Hamilton County BOCC, First Reading 2026-07-08, Second Reading & Vote 2026-07-22

The agenda and board packet for their Regular Meeting, July 8, 2026, contains a public notice, a recently-passed state datacenter law with highlights on parts applicable to local ordinances, a Business Impact Estimate for the proposed ordinance, a redline version of the ordinance showing changes since its previous draft, and the nine-page datacenter moratorium ordinance itself.

Every county should be as diligent and transparent, no matter in which state.

The east border of Madison County is the Withlacoochee River downstream from Georgia and upstream from the Suwannee River, with first-magnitue Madison Blue Spring in between. Madison County, like all counties in the Suwannee River Basin, is on top of the Floridan Aquifer from which we all drink for every purpose.

The ordinance does not explicitly name any of the rivers or springs or the aquifer, but it does include these sections, which are relevant. Continue reading →

Poe Springs Swimming Area Closed 2026-07-16

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The drought has browned out stopped another spring.

Alachua County, July 15, 2026, Poe Springs Swimming Area Temporarily Closed,

Effective Thursday, July 16, 2026, the designated swimming area at Poe Springs Park will be temporarily closed due to poor water clarity.

[Poe Springs Swimming Area Closed 2026-07-16, Due to poor water clarity, The Park remains open]
Poe Springs Swimming Area Closed 2026-07-16, Due to poor water clarity, The Park remains open

Recent conditions have reduced underwater visibility to the point that the county has determined the swimming area is no longer safe for public use.

The remainder of Poe Springs Park will remain open, including the picnic areas, trails, and boat ramp. Visitors may continue to enjoy these amenities, including launching kayaks and canoes.

County staff will monitor water clarity on a weekly basis, and the swimming area will reopen as soon as visibility returns to a safe level.

The county appreciates the public’s patience and cooperation as we prioritize visitor safety.

For more information, Continue reading →

Packet: Another increase in groundwater withdrawals during a Phase III Extreme Water Shortage –SJRWMD 2026-07-14

Nevermind the top of the SJRWMD web page says, “Phase III Extreme Water Shortage in Effect | View current watering restrictions.”

Nonetheless, the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) Board plans to permit increased groundwater withdrawals, at their 10 AM, Tuesday, July 14, 2026, meeting in Palatka,

You can also watch on SJRWMD’s YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@floridaswater

Which could be useful if you have to be in Live Oak at 10 AM that same day for the Suwannee River WMD (SRWMD) board meeting.

[Packet: Another increase in groundwater withdrawals in Phase III Extreme Water Shortage --SJRWMD 2026-07-14]
Packet: Another increase in groundwater withdrawals in Phase III Extreme Water Shortage –SJRWMD 2026-07-14

You can talk in Public Comment about anything you like, including Water First North Florida (WFNF), the JEA, SJRWMD, and SRWMD plan to pipe treated wastewater from Jacksonville into the Suwannee River Basin. https://wwals.net/issues/wfnf

In the SJRWMD board packet are these agenda items:

  1. For Information: The Hydrologic Conditions Report.
  1. Consideration: Approve Consumptive Use Permit 1198-10, known as St. Johns Utility Department (SJCUD). This application is a consolidation and renewal of existing public supply permits with a proposed allocation of 21.58 mgd through 2046. If special permit conditions are met, the permitted allocation will increase from 21.58 to 27.11 mgd.
  1. For Information: Public Comment.

Page 11 of the board packet spells out how this is related to the Suwannee Basin, “…an increase in Upper Floridan aquifer (UFA) groundwater allocation from 21.58 mgd to 27.11 mgd, if the permittee meets the offset requirements of Rule 62-42.300(7), F.A.C., relating to the Implementation Strategy for the Lower Santa Fe and Ichetucknee Rivers (LSFIR) Minimum Flows and Levels (MFLs) and offsets the permittee’s share of impacts to the Lakes Brooklyn and Geneva minimum flows and levels established by Rule 40C-8.031(5), F.A.C.”

According to page 13, “The proposed increase in allocation represents a 26% increase in allocation to meet a projected population increase of approximately 74% over the permit duration.”

But according to page 16, the actual increase is even greater, “SJCUD is required to identify offset project(s) within 5 years of permit issuance for the increase in impacts associated with the increase in allocation from its 2025 demonstrated demand of 15.41 mgd to its current permitted allocation of 21.58 mgd.”

21.58 mgd is already 40% more than “its 2025 demonstrated demand of 15.41 mgd”.

And 27.11 is 76% more than that 2025 number. Very similar to that 74% population increase projection.

So it’s not as if SJRWMD or St. Johns County has figured out how to use much less water per capita. They’re just planning to increase water withdrawals by about the same percentage as they predict population will increase.

But trust them, says page 15, “The proposed source has historically and will continue to be capable of producing adequate quantities of water to meet the requirements for public supply purposes under subsections 2.3(c) and (d), A.H.”

Oh, it’s also related to Black Creek, says page 17, Continue reading →