Update 2025-07-12: Clean Withlacoochee River 2025-07-09.

Here’s what’s happening to nitrate, pH, and other USGS-funded water quality monitoring in and near the Suwannee River Basin.

USGS discontinued funding for nitrate and pH spring monitoring @ SRWMD 2025-07-08

At the Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD) Board meeting yesterday, Amy Brown introduced Suzy Hetrick to give an update on the USGS monitoring agreement.

Suzy Hetrick, Update USGS JFA 2025-07-08

Suzy Hetrick, who is Water Resources Office Chief, said that in April SRWMD was informed by USGS that USGS would discontinue funding continous nitrate sampling at all eight springs they were funding.

See the SRWMD video at 1:32:36:
https://www.youtube.com/live/9pousRkUayc?si=Fr7mNxMp0wJaaLqd&t=5556

Other types of monitoring are also being discontinued in October at those locations (pH) and others at other locations. SRWMD is picking up a few of them, but far from all.

And SRWMD also monitors other sites that USGS is not involved in.

She noted that you may see nitrate data continuing to be graphed for a while, but that’s because USGS has not yet retrieved their equipment.

SRWMD will do quarterly grab-sampling at the eight springs, including analysis for nitrate.

This Joint Funding Agreement (JFA) between SRWMD and USGS still has to be approved by the SRWMD Board next month.

Meanwhile, SRWMD Board Chair Virginia Johns asked if it was in the SRWMD budget to pick up what USGS is dropping.

Suzy Hetrick answered, “The short answer is yes. A lot of that we will be absorbing with District time. We are still determining what the cost is going to be for the contractual portions of those….” She promised they would know more before next month. Continue reading →