Tag Archives: Ichetucknee River

SRWMD & SJRWMD aquifer recharge project update @ SRWMD 2025-07-08

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A billion dollars to run Jacksonville and JEA treated wastewater through wetlands in the Suwannee River Basin and into the Floridan Aquifer: this proposal was presented to the SRWMD Board this month.

Nevermind that sewage effluent carries PFAS forever chemicals into wetlands. After contaminating all the wetland wildlife, PFAS would continue into the Florida Aquifer, from which we all drink.

[SRWMD & SJRWMD aquifer recharge project update @ SRWMD 2025-07-08, What about PFAS? and limits on water withdrawals?]
SRWMD & SJRWMD aquifer recharge project update @ SRWMD 2025-07-08, What about PFAS? and limits on water withdrawals?

A SRWMD Board member pointed out that desalination of seawater would cost less. Another pointed out that Jacksonville would just suck the water back out of the aquifer. More on board comments below.

Instead, how about Jacksonville and JEA treat their effluent to drinking water standards and reuse it for themselves? The money they save from pumping it to any of those recharge areas would be enormous. That would use less groundwater, so there would be less need for recharge.

The excuse for this project is increasing population needing more water. Continue reading →

Pictures: Ichetucknee River in the State Park 2025-04-05

Update 2025-04-14: Videos.

The weather was perfect, the river and springs were crystal clear, the company was congenial, and there were many turtles and birds (and tubers), on the Ichetucknee River in spring.

[Ichetucknee River, Springs, Turtles, Birds, Tubers 2025-04-05, North Launch past South Launch, to US 27 Bridge]
Ichetucknee River, Springs, Turtles, Birds, Tubers 2025-04-05, North Launch past South Launch, to US 27 Bridge

Thanks to Janet Martin for organizing this outing, and for some of the pictures here.

Videos:

On Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Wwalswatershed/videos/1026695632691778/

On YouTube:
https://youtu.be/awFdQjOQGzo

These pictures go from Ichetucknee Springs State Park North Entrance, past many springs and tubers, past South Launch, to the south end of the park.

To be continued with the rest of the Ichetucknee River with many boats, and the Santa Fe River to US 129, with many power boats going fast.

For more WWALS outings and events as they are posted, see the WWALS outings web page, https://wwals.net/outings/. WWALS members also get an upcoming list in the Tannin Times newsletter.

 -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

Continue reading →

Rescheduled: Ichetucknee to Santa Fe Rivers 2025-04-05

Update 2025-05-11: Pictures: Ichetucknee River in the State Park 2025-04-05.

Rescheduled again to April 5, 2025, because of river closure: they were still cleaning Hurricane Helene debris out of the river through the previous date.

We apologize for the inconvenience. We are also disappointed. But neither we nor the park control hurricanes, and the park does not control the schedule of Tallahassee or the contractors for removing hurricane debris.

Join us on a leisurely paddle on the Ichetucknee and Santa Fe Rivers, starting at Ichetucknee Springs State Park North Entrance, past many springs, taking out at the US 129 Boat Ramp.

When: Gather 8:30 AM, launch 9:30 AM, end 4 PM, Saturday, April 5, 2024

Put In: Ichetucknee Springs S.P. North Entrance, 8294 SW Elim Church Rd, Fort White, FL 32038.

GPS: 29.986107, -82.760109

[Ichetucknee River to Santa Fe River 2025-04-05, Ichetucknee Springs S.P. North to US 129 Boat Ramp]
Ichetucknee River to Santa Fe River 2025-04-05, Ichetucknee Springs S.P. North to US 129 Boat Ramp

Continue reading →

Rescheduled: Ichetucknee to Santa Fe Rivers 2025-02-22

Update 2025-02-15: Because the river was still closed for hurricane debris removal, Rescheduled: Ichetucknee to Santa Fe Rivers 2025-04-05.

Rescheduled to February 22, 2025, because of park closure.

Join us on a leisurely paddle on the Ichetucknee and Santa Fe Rivers, starting at Ichetucknee Springs State Park North Entrance, past many springs, taking out at the US 129 Boat Ramp.

When: Gather 8:30 AM, launch 9:30 AM, end 4 PM, Saturday, February 22, 2024

Put In: Ichetucknee Springs S.P. North Entrance, 8294 SW Elim Church Rd, Fort White, FL 32038.

GPS: 29.986107, -82.760109

[Ichetucknee River to Santa Fe River 2025-02-22, Ichetucknee Springs S.P. North to US 129 Boat Ramp]
Ichetucknee River to Santa Fe River 2025-02-22, Ichetucknee Springs S.P. North to US 129 Boat Ramp

Continue reading →

Rescheduled: Ichetucknee to Santa Fe Rivers 2025-02-01

Update 2025-01-25: Due to park closure, Rescheduled: Ichetucknee to Santa Fe Rivers 2025-02-22.

Rescheduled to February 1, 2025, due to schedule conflict.

Join us on a leisurely paddle on the Ichetucknee and Santa Fe Rivers, starting at Ichetucknee Springs State Park North Entrance, past many springs, taking out at the US 129 Boat Ramp.

When: Gather 8:30 AM, launch 9:30 AM, end 4 PM, Saturday, February 1, 2024

Put In: Ichetucknee Springs S.P. North Entrance, 8294 SW Elim Church Rd, Fort White, FL 32038.

GPS: 29.986107, -82.760109

[Ichetucknee River to Santa Fe River 2025-02-01, Ichetucknee Springs S.P. North to US 129 Boat Ramp]
Ichetucknee River to Santa Fe River 2025-02-01, Ichetucknee Springs S.P. North to US 129 Boat Ramp

Continue reading →

Pictures: Santa Fe River BMAP meeting, Lake Butler, FL 2024-10-28

There was better communication than last time, but of course that was a low bar.

You can follow up after that meeting, and the next ones: here are some ideas.
https://wwals.net/?p=66108

The other two BMAP meetings are today (see below).

[Santa Fe River BMAP Meeting, Lake Butler, FL 2024-10-28 Better communication than last time]
Santa Fe River BMAP Meeting, Lake Butler, FL 2024-10-28 Better communication than last time

At the Santa Fe BMAP meeting in Lake Butler, none of the people from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) volunteered an answer to the most basic question: how has the situation improved since the BMAPs started?

Thanks to the graph Ryan Smart of the Florida Springs Council (FSC) brought, showing “Changes in pounds of nitrogen at spring vent”, several of them did agree that in fact the situation has gotten worse. Continue reading →

Help fix the broken BMAPs to clean up Florida waters 2024-10-30

Update 2024-11-05: Pictures: Suwannee River Basin BMAP meeting in Live Oak 2024-10-30.

Update 2024-10-30: Pictures: Santa Fe River BMAP meeting, Lake Butler, FL 2024-10-28.

FDEP has announced rescheduled dates for some BMAP meetings after the hurricanes.
https://floridadep.gov/dear/water-quality-restoration/content/bmap-public-meetings

Please go and say why you think the Basin Management Action Plans (BMAPs) are broken. But don’t stop there, or they will just mark down x number of people came, so public outreach was successful.

Here are more things you can do at the meeting and afterwards.

Wear blue, so we can all be seen together, as recommended by Sarah Younger of the Suwannee-St. Johns Group of Sierra Club Florida.

Ask for metrics for improvement since the BMAPs started, such as how much less nitrate leaching from irrigated fertilizer into springs and rivers.

Turn their poster session format into a grassroots town hall. Video your question and their answer. Post your video on social media with a hashtag: #BMAPSantaFe, #BMAPSuwannee, or #BMAPSilverRainbow (see below).

If they say go look at some obscure website, ask them to tell you the metrics now.

If the FDEP person refuses to answer, video that, and post it.

For the Suwannee BMAP, ask them why SRWMD did not mention the Manatee Springs BMAP when it issued an Environmental Resource Permit (ERP) for a road inside the 2,109-acre rezoning area for a development in floodplain.

For the Rainbow BMAP, ask them why SWFWMD did not mention the Rainbow Springs Springshed when it issued an ERP for the sand mine.

Ask them what the BMAPs are doing to get farmers to convert from Monsanto-seed Glysophate-spraying over-fertilized water-sucking over-irrigated agriculture to methods more friendly to Florida’s waters.

Be polite. The specific FDEP employees there are probably just trying to do their job. The problem comes from higher up. See below for what to do about that after the meeting.

[Help fix Florida BMAPs to fix Florida polluted waters 2024-10-28-30]
Help fix Florida BMAPs to fix Florida polluted waters 2024-10-28-30

Three meetings are of particular interest. Continue reading →

What parks are closed? 2024-10-03

Many national, state, and local parks and related facilities are closed due to damage from Hurricane Helene. Some were already closed due to Hurricane Debby.

Assume it’s closed unless you have other information.

[What parks are closed after Hurricane Helene? Many of them. 2024-10-03 Assume closed unless other information.]
What parks are closed after Hurricane Helene? Many of them. 2024-10-03 Assume closed unless other information.
Pictured: damage at Stephen Foster Culture Center State Park in White Springs, Florida. Photo: SFCSSP

Georgia

Many parks are closed all over Georgia. Here we list only the ones in or near the Suwannee River Basin.

Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge

Continue reading →

Are the rivers rising? 2024-10-01

Somebody asked: has the Suwannee River crested after Hurricane Helene? Yes, upstream from the Alapaha River (Nobles Ferry Gauge) and downstream from the Santa Fe River (Rock Bluff Gauge). In between (Nobles Ferry to Branford Gauge) it’s still rising, although nowhere near Action Stage.

[Flooding: Little, Withlacoochee, Alapaha Rivers 2024-10-01 Not flooding: Suwannee, Ichetucknee, New, Santa Fe Rivers]
Flooding: Little, Withlacoochee, Alapaha Rivers 2024-10-01 Not flooding: Suwannee, Ichetucknee, New, Santa Fe Rivers

The Santa Fe and New Rivers were mostly unaffected by the storm.

The Little, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha Rivers are or were all in flood upstream, rapidly heading downstream.

So if you must go boating, the Santa Fe River or the Middle Suwannee River are your best bets. But if you can, stay off the roads and let emergency vehicles, road crews, and utilities work.

Details below, taken from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service. NOAA is the first option in River water levels in the Suwannee River Basin 2024-08-07. Continue reading →

Water Protectors Meet and Greet at Ichetucknee Head Springs 2024-09-08

Meet for an hour and then dip in the spring, or tube if you like.

If you haven’t already, you can sign the petition to get a constitutional amendment for Right to Clean Water on the Florida ballot in 2026.
https://wwals.net/issues/right-to-clean-water/

When: Gather 10 AM, launch 11 AM, end 2 PM, Sunday, September 8, 2024

Put In: Ichetucknee Headspring, at the Ichetucknee Springs State Park North Entrance, 8294 SW Elim Church Rd, Fort White, FL 32038.

GPS: 29.986107, -82.760109

[Water Protectors Meet and Greet, Sunday, 10-11 AM, 2024-09-08, Ichetucknee Springs S.P. North Entrance]
Water Protectors Meet and Greet, Sunday, 10-11 AM, 2024-09-08, Ichetucknee Springs S.P. North Entrance

Continue reading →