Category Archives: Springs

Videos: North Florida Regional Water Supply Plan meeting @ SRWMD 2022-11-15

Update 2023-02-07: Water budget, limit water withdrawals, do better aquifer recharge –WWALS to NFRWSP 2023-01-31.

Almost all the attendees were SRWMD staff; no board members. The only public comment was by me, at the NFRWSP Constraint Meeting, at SRWMD HQ yesterday.

You can comment in writing to partnership@sjrwmd.com by January 31, 2023.

[Presenters, Commenter]
Presenters, Commenter

The presentations were informative, although they omitted a major subject, which I addressed: limits on water withdrawal permits. Will the SRWMD and SJRWMD boards address it this time, or shrug it off like six years ago, after many people suggested it?

SRWMD seemed to be recording video of this meeting, and presumably they will release the slides sometime. Meanwhile, pictures of most of the slides are on the WWALS website. Here is a a WWALS video playlist: Continue reading →

Figures and Tables from NORTH FLORIDA SOUTHEAST GEORGIA GROUNDWATER MODEL (NFSEG V1.1) 2019-08-01

Update 2022-11-16: Videos: North Florida Regional Water Supply Plan meeting @ SRWMD 2022-11-15.

This rather thorough model of the Floridan Aquifer and its relatives is meant to be support planning, but does not actually do that planning. Planning is the topic of the meeting this afternoon about the North Florida Regional Water Supply Plan (NFRWSP).

[Collage]
Collage, Figures and Tables from NORTH FLORIDA SOUTHEAST GEORGIA GROUNDWATER MODEL (NFSEG V1.1)

That’s also why we need Right to Clean Water in Florida.

The sentence I’ve bolded below from the Executive Summary is the most important thing about the North Florida-Southeast Georgia (NFSEG) regional groundwater flow model. Continue reading →

Florida Right to Clean Water: get petition signatures for court review 2022-11-10

Update 2023-04-01: Florida Right to Hunt and Fish breezing through legislature towards 2024 ballot 2023-03-27.

Floridians, now’s the time to get the petition through the first hurdle: Florida Supreme Court review by March 1, 2023. 223,000 signatures is doable if enough people help.

If you’re a registered Florida voter, go here and sign the petition:
https://www.floridarighttocleanwater.org/

[Unite for Clean Water flyer]

And join the campaign:
https://www.floridarighttocleanwater.org/uniteforcleanwater

Individuals, groups, businesses, or non-profits: all can help get constitutional protection for our rivers, creeks, springs, sinks and swamps, not to mention drinking water.

More about Right to Clean Water in Florida and Georgia here:
https://wwals.net/issues/right-to-clean-water/

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/

NFRWSP Constraint Meeting, 2022-11-15

Update 2022-11-16: Videos: North Florida Regional Water Supply Plan meeting @ SRWMD 2022-11-15.

Update 2022-11-15: Figures and Tables from NORTH FLORIDA SOUTHEAST GEORGIA GROUNDWATER MODEL (NFSEG V1.1) 2019-08-01.

January will be six years since SRWMD and SJRWMD passed the North Florida Regional Water Supply Plan (NFRWSP), mostly ignoring input from interested parties. It’s back for renovations, with public comment at the end of the workshops. Maybe you’d like to attend and comment, or send them written comments.

When: 2 PM, Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Put In: District Headquarters, 9225 CR 49, Live Oak, FL 32060

Figure C3: Aquifer surface change due to withdrawals in north Florida and south Georgia
Figure C3: Aquifer surface change due to withdrawals in north Florida and south Georgia

Continue reading →

Bill Gates responds on MSNBC to my criticisms of his farm policies 2022-09-13

Last night Bill Gates again pretended to be an expert on farming, while avoiding mention of water, soil, ecology, environment, or community. Many of the assertions he made about farming in the U.S. and Africa don’t match documented research.

He did seem to be familiar with my criticisms of his policies, and by his expressions he doesn’t like them much.

[Question and three Gates expressions]
Question and three Gates expressions

He says “all these areas, they evolve, they understand how to say use less fertilizer, which is both good economically and good environmentally.”

Well, his landholdings in Florida and Georgia did not evolve. And he’s now sold off many of them, so maybe they weren’t good economically for him.

Meanwhile, he has driven the size of farm landholdings up, Continue reading →

Pictures: Nice day for a portage around Big Shoals, Suwannee River 2021-05-19

Four is enough for a fun Suwannee River paddle and portage around Big Shoals. Thanks to Bobby McKenzie for leading us.

[Put In, Portage, Big Shoals, Bell Springs Run, Little Shoals, US 41]
Put In, Portage, Big Shoals, Bell Springs Run, Little Shoals, US 41

There are many more pictures on the WWALS website, with copies on facebook.

Dennis Price will lead us through the same stretch on Continue reading →

Pictures: David’s Disappointment Spring, Withlacoochee River 2022-06-04

Thanks, Suzy Sparkman Hall, for the name: David’s Disappointment Spring, which we saw paddling from Florida Campsites to Allen Ramp, Withlacoochee River, 2022-06-04.

[Human for scale, David's Disappointment, 13:15:04, 30.4747627, -83.2433016]
Human for scale, David’s Disappointment, 13:15:04, 30.4747627, -83.2433016

And thanks to Suzy for why: Guy Bryant, A Cave Diving History of Little Known Springs, December 3, 2015, David’s Disappointment Spring,

David’s Disappointment Spring is named after David Nolan who was the first person to explore its small cave. The spring is located Continue reading →

Pictures: Florida Campsites to Allen Ramp, Withlacoochee River 2022-06-04

Update 2022-08-08: Pictures: David’s Disappointment Spring, Withlacoochee River 2022-06-04.

That was not far, but took a while, because there was a slough, spring, or sandbar every mile or so, Florida Campsites to Allen Ramp, Withlacoochee River 2022-06-04. Thanks to Robert Weldon for leading this one.

[Banners, River, Springs]
Banners, River, Springs

I think that was seven springs, including first magnitude Madison Blue Spring, and one distributary: Sullivan Slough. Didn’t get a good picture of Pot Spring; can’t really see it from the river, and too many people up there to climb up. I had the WWALS GOPRO360 going, so you’ll see those 360-degree views soon. Meanwhile, here are some ordinary pictures. See also facebook photosets by: Continue reading →

Pictures: Sullivan Launch to Madison Blue Spring Withlacoochee River 2015-10-24

A fine day, balmy, breezy, sunny, with springs and rapids and fine company, from Sullivan Launch to Madison Blue Spring on the Withlacoochee River, in the October WWALS Outing, October 24, 2015.

[Onwards from Hardee Spring 30.5444069, -83.2500076]
Onwards from Hardee Spring 30.5444069, -83.2500076

This is part of the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail, and you can join the committee!

Below are some pictures. Click on any small picture to see a larger version. Pictured: many shoals and rapids.

[Pinetta Gage steps and old-style measure 30.5957374, -83.2598038]
Pinetta Gage steps and old-style measure 30.5957374, -83.2598038

The Pinetta gage (pictured) read 6.4 feet. Any lower and more dragging boats would have been necessary. Lots of cypress, oaks, pines, and other native species.

Not pictured: a large turtle, numerous birds (heron, ibis, hawk, buzzard, others), and fish (mullet, bass). No gators. Very few invasive species, except the notorious Japanese climbing fern.

Watch the WWALS Outings for more outings and events!
https://wwals.net/outings/

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can help with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable, water in the 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/

After

[WWALS at Madison Blue Spring --Gretchen Quarterman]
WWALS at Madison Blue Spring –Gretchen Quarterman

Before

[Gathering]
Gathering

Pinnetta Gauge

[Pinetta Gage Tower 30.5957374, -83.2598038]
Pinetta Gage Tower 30.5957374, -83.2598038

Old Belleville Bridge

[Belleville Bridge buttress from below 30.5953369, -83.2596130]
Belleville Bridge buttress from below 30.5953369, -83.2596130

On the water

[CR 150 bridge, looking upstream 30.5956955, -83.2594681]
CR 150 bridge, looking upstream 30.5956955, -83.2594681

First Shoals

[Shoals 30.5941982, -83.2590637]
Shoals 30.5941982, -83.2590637

Flotilla

[Gretchen and the boaters 30.5822926, -83.2627106]
Gretchen and the boaters 30.5822926, -83.2627106

Second Shoals

[More shoals 30.5819988, -83.2626953]
More shoals 30.5819988, -83.2626953

First Spring

[Coffee Spring 30.5775184, -83.2618179]
Coffee Spring 30.5775184, -83.2618179

Onwards

[Froth 30.5762119, -83.2609482]
Froth 30.5762119, -83.2609482

Third Shoals

[Sighting the rapids 30.5697098, -83.2624817]
Sighting the rapids 30.5697098, -83.2624817

On down the river

[Two directions 30.5679722, -83.2606277]
Two directions 30.5679722, -83.2606277

Eyott

[Island, or rather eyott? 30.5653133, -83.2575378]
Island, or rather eyott? 30.5653133, -83.2575378

Fossilized

[Fossils for lunch 30.5626812, -83.2563248]
Fossils for lunch 30.5626812, -83.2563248

River House

[House 30.5626812, -83.2563248]
House 30.5626812, -83.2563248

Left bank island

[Island on left 30.5626812, -83.2563248]
Island on left 30.5626812, -83.2563248

Karst

[Confab 30.5626812, -83.2563248]
Confab 30.5626812, -83.2563248

Tiny Fourth Shoals

[White water 30.5529365, -83.2608795]
White water 30.5529365, -83.2608795

Soon Spring

[Spring coming up 30.5446434, -83.2505264]
Spring coming up 30.5446434, -83.2505264

Hardee (Rossetter) Spring

[Hardee Spring dam 30.5446434, -83.2505264]
Hardee Spring dam 30.5446434, -83.2505264

After Hardee

[Onwards from Hardee Spring 30.5444069, -83.2500076]
Onwards from Hardee Spring 30.5444069, -83.2500076

Rock Tree

[Dan and the rock tree 30.5336761, -83.2483062]
Dan and the rock tree 30.5336761, -83.2483062

Balcones

[Undercut caves 30.5118561, -83.2455368]
Undercut caves 30.5118561, -83.2455368

PBR

[A boat ramp 30.5118217, -83.2455063]
A boat ramp 30.5118217, -83.2455063

Black Rocks

[Interesting black rocks 30.4932423, -83.2414474]
Interesting black rocks 30.4932423, -83.2414474

Fifth Shoals

[Rapids 30.4910717, -83.2443161]
Rapids 30.4910717, -83.2443161

Karst Tree

[Karst tree 30.4899406, -83.2438965]
Karst tree 30.4899406, -83.2438965

Egret

[Green bank, white bird 30.4822121, -83.2433777]
Green bank, white bird 30.4822121, -83.2433777

FL 6 Bridge

[FL 6 bridge from downstream 30.4812660, -83.2434616]
FL 6 bridge from downstream 30.4812660, -83.2434616

MBS

[Just around those logs 30.4810009, -83.2436981]
Just around those logs 30.4810009, -83.2436981

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can help with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable, water in the 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/

Book: Canoeing and Kayaking Georgia, Third Edition 2022-06-30

The Third Edition of Canoeing and Kayaking Georgia. is finally out, after perhaps-perfectionist Suzanne Welander worked on it seemingly forever, and it is worth the wait.

[Cover and inside]
Cover and inside

It is even more thorough than previous editions, with some new put-ins added Continue reading →