Tag Archives: Suwannee Springs

Drought reveals two new springs on the Suwannee River –SRWMD 2026-07-01

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The spring I’ve used to illustrate this story is somewhat upstream of Suwannee Springs. It is called Ham1019971, and is a fourth magnitude sulphur spring seen on a WWALS paddle, May 20, 2017. It is not the newly-discovered Ule Spring mentioned in the press release.

Also, Byron Herder, who owns the first-magnitude spring Alapaha River Rise, remarked on facebook, “I found a first magnitude spring on Suwannee during the drought. Bringing state total to 34.”

Speaking of drought, this Tuesday SRWMD will approve a Further modified Phase II Water Shortage Ordinance @ SRWMD 2026-07-14. Nevermind St. Johns River WMD and Southwest Florida WMD went to Phase III months ago.

[Drought reveals two new springs on the Suwannee River --SRWMD 2026-07-01]
Drought reveals two new springs on the Suwannee River –SRWMD 2026-07-01

PR, SRWMD, July 1, 2026, Drought conditions reveal new springs along the Suwannee River; see also WCTV,

LIVE OAK, FLA., JULY 1, 2026 — While ongoing drought conditions have reduced river flows across the region, unusually low water levels have also provided a unique opportunity for Suwannee River Water Management District (District) staff to locate and document several previously unknown springs.

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Old Stagecoach Road Bridge at Suwannee Springs 2025-12-12

This is not the historic bridge you can see today at Suwannee Springs.

It’s the one before that. The clue is the columns holding it up. Also the spring wall holding water.

[Site of Stagecoach Road Bridge at Suwannee Springs 2025-12-12, Upstream from Historic 1931 Graffiti Bridge]
Site of Stagecoach Road Bridge at Suwannee Springs 2025-12-12, Upstream from Historic 1931 Graffiti Bridge

The Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD) posted this picture December 12, 2025. Continue reading →

Cancelled: Hike Camp Branch to Suwannee Springs 2024-02-03

Update 2024-01-29: Outing cancelled. “We would have been wading. There are two deep gullies east of Rt 129 that will be flooded for awhile.”

Join veteran Florida Trail hiker Randy Madison for a winter hike along creeks and over a historic bridge to Suwannee Springs on the Suwannee River near Live Oak, Florida.

This hike will take us down beautiful Camp Branch, also know as Disappearing Creek. Disappearing Creek tumbles down a narrow canyon and disappears into a 15 foot high limestone rock wall before resurfacing and then going under ground again to resurface finally just before emptying into the Suwannee River.

After the descent of Camp Branch and a break at Disappearing Creek, we’ll head down the Suwannee on the Florida Trail to cross Crooked Branch, accend the Greasy Gully to summit Devils Mt, elevation 137ft, then follow the River passing through a scenic area with the hike ambling along the edge of some open cliffs, then a couple nice sandbars before coming in to the Graffiti Bridge, old 129.

We’ll take the blue trail from the Graffiti Bridge back to the Suwannee Springs ruins and our cars. Bring lunch, plenty of water, bug spray and appropriate clothing for the outing.

The hike down Camp Branch is through open forest and can be strenuous, so if you’re not up to uneven terrain and a little bush whacking this may not be a hike for you.

When: Gather 9 AM, launch 9:15 AM, end 4 PM, Saturday, February 3, 2024

Put In: Camp Branch Trailhead. I-75 exit 451, south on US 129, left onto CR 132 SE, right (south) onto SE CR 25A, right onto SE 89th Way, approximately 1 mile to the parking area, 12982 SE 89th Way.

GPS: 30.3779, -82.8788

[Map and about]
Camp Branch and Suwannee Springs in the WWALS map of the Suwannee River Water Trail.

Continue reading →

Hike Camp Branch to Suwannee Springs 2024-02-03

Update 2024-01-29: Cancelled: Hike Camp Branch to Suwannee Springs 2024-02-03.

Join veteran Florida Trail hiker Randy Madison for a winter hike along creeks and over a historic bridge to Suwannee Springs on the Suwannee River near Live Oak, Florida.

Update 2023-10-30: Meet and park at Suwannee Springs and Randy will lead a small caravan to the trailhead.

This hike will take us down beautiful Camp Branch, also know as Disappearing Creek. Disappearing Creek tumbles down a narrow canyon and disappears into a 15 foot high limestone rock wall before resurfacing and then going under ground again to resurface finally just before emptying into the Suwannee River.

After the descent of Camp Branch and a break at Disappearing Creek, we’ll head down the Suwannee on the Florida Trail to cross Crooked Branch, accend the Greasy Gully to summit Devils Mt, elevation 137ft, then follow the River passing through a scenic area with the hike ambling along the edge of some open cliffs, then a couple nice sandbars before coming in to the Graffiti Bridge, old 129.

We’ll take the blue trail from the Graffiti Bridge back to the Suwannee Springs ruins and our cars. Bring lunch, plenty of water, bug spray and appropriate clothing for the outing.

The hike down Camp Branch is through open forest and can be strenuous, so if you’re not up to uneven terrain and a little bush whacking this may not be a hike for you.

When: Gather 9 AM, launch 9:15 AM, end 4 PM, Saturday, February 3, 2024

Meet and Take Out Here: Suwannee Springs, 3243 91st Dr., Live Oak, FL 32060

GPS: 30.394478, -82.934538

[Map and about]
Camp Branch and Suwannee Springs in the WWALS map of the Suwannee River Water Trail.

Continue reading →

Agenda: Upper and Middle Suwannee River MFL webinar and followon WebBoard meetings 2023-05-02 2023-05-02

Update 2023-06-16: Final webinar, Upper and Middle Suwannee River Minimum Flows and Levels (MFLs) 2023-06-23.

Here is the agenda for the SRWMD MFL meeting tomorrow.

After I posted the meeting notice, I asked SRWMD for a copy of the agenda, noting that it was not in the calendar the notice referenced, www.MySuwanneeRiver.com/calendar, and not in the SRWMD web page on UPPER AND MIDDLE SUWANNEE MFLS PEER REVIEW. I sent that request to Amy Brown, Deputy Executive Director, Water Resources, SRWMD (pictured on the left).

[Agenda for 2023-05-02 and picture from 2023-03-15 meeting]
Agenda for 2023-05-02 and picture from 2023-03-15 meeting

Later that same day, Continue reading →

Upper and Middle Suwannee River MFL webinar and followon WebBoard meetings 2023-05-02

Update 2023-05-01: Agenda: Upper and Middle Suwannee River MFL webinar and followon WebBoard meetings 2023-05-02 2023-05-02.

SRWMD is having a third Upper & Middle Suwannee River MFL meeting, 1 PM, May 2, 2023, via webinar.

This meeting is not listed on the District’s corresponding web page. And it is not listed in the calendar the meeting notice refers to.

The notice apparently is only posted as Notice: 27066509 in the Florida Administrative Code & Florida Administrative Register.

Ditto for the series of followon WebBoard meetings.

[2023-03-15 MFL meeting]
2023-03-15 MFL meeting

The Suwannee River Water Management District announces a public meeting to which all persons are invited.

DATE AND TIME: May 2, 2023, 1:00 p.m.

PLACE: Continue reading →

Videos: Upper and Middle Suwannee River MFL Peer Review Meeting 2023-03-15

Update 2023-04-26: Upper and Middle Suwannee River MFL webinar and followon WebBoard meetings 2023-05-02.

SRWMD considered everything from water levels needed for paddling and other boating, to fish passage depths, to Gulf Sturgeon spawning depth. The sturgeon won, with the least allowable flow reduction at the median. This was for all of the reference gauges for both stretches of the river. Which means Gulf Sturgeon determine the minimum flow levels and depths for both the Upper and Middle Suwannee River. The draft MFLs are already in the report.

[Reviewers, MFL, Public Comment 2022-03-15]
Reviewers, MFL, Public Comment 2022-03-15

As one of the three speakers in the Public Comment agenda item, I got surprising agreement on two points. I said that while limiting water withdrawals might not be within the scope of this process, nonetheless the sensitivity map for the Suwannee River at Ellaville indicated that this process could study what would happen with various potential water withdrawals in various locations. And this process could study the effects of different aquifer replenishment methods. Continue reading →

Upper and Middle Suwannee River MFL Peer Review Meeting 2023-03-15

Update 2023-03-28: Videos: Upper and Middle Suwannee River MFL Peer Review Meeting 2023-03-15.

Thanks to WWALS Board member Dennis Price, P.G. of Hamilton County, Florida, for spotting this meeting about minimum flows and levels on the Suwannee River, including underground water down to the Floridan Aquifer.

Please come to the meeting at SRWMD HQ in Live Oak at 9AM Wednesday, March 15, 2023.

Or send comment to MFL@srwmd.org by April 30, 2023.

[Meeting Notice and MFLs]
Meeting Notice and MFLs

SRWMD, Alerts & Notices, February 22, 2023 9:00 AM Upper and Middle Suwannee River MFL Peer Review Meeting

A public meeting to start the peer review process for the Upper and Middle Suwannee River Minimum Flows and Levels (MFLs) has been scheduled. An overview of these proposed MFLs will be presented by the District to the peer reviewers and the public. These MFLs are specifically for the Upper and Middle Suwannee River segments. The District will continue to work on the MFLs for priority springs along the river based on the District’s MFL priority list schedule.

The draft Upper and Middle Suwannee River MFL technical documents are posted to the District’s website for review. See the links and provided information below.

Public comment is being accepted on MFL methods and analyses presented in the technical documents until April 30, 2023. Please email all comments to MFL@srwmd.org.

The public meeting is being held on March 15 at 10am at the District’s headquarters in Live Oak, FL.

Access the links below for more information.
Middle Suwannee River & Springs MFLs
Upper Suwannee River & Springs MFLs

The only springs mentioned by name in the two MFLs web pages are Continue reading →

Flooding on the Suwannee River at Suwannee Springs –SRWMD 2021-09-23

Like me, you may be wondering what is going on at Suwannee Springs since I first reported on the debris there after the July 2020 flooding. In January 2021, the answer was SRWMD would finishing removing the debris “in a few weeks, not months.”

Unfortunately, then there was repeated flooding, and in between floods the COVID-19 pandemic interfered.

So yesterday I asked again, and today Edwin McCook took this picture:

[Flooding on the Suwannee River at Suwannee Springs on 9/23/2021. Suwannee; Springs gauge 53.86'. Photo: Edwin McCook, SRWMD]
Flooding on the Suwannee River at Suwannee Springs on 9/23/2021. Suwannee; Springs gauge 53.86′. Photo: Edwin McCook, SRWMD

As you can see, the river water is close to the top of the spring wall.

Edwin says once the water recedes, the Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD) will continue planning to remove the debris. They had already reviewed options back in January, so they have a leg up on that planning.

More when I know more.

Meanwhile, the Suwannee Springs USGS gauge reads 53.86′.

That’s well below flood stage, which is 60′. However, you can see by the picture that working inside the spring wall would be difficult with the water that high. Continue reading →

Suwannee Springs flood debris 2021-01-12

Update 2021-09-23 Flooding on the Suwannee River at Suwannee Springs –SRWMD 2021-09-23.

Many people have wondered when SRWMD will finish cleaning the debris out of Suwannee Springs from the flood last July. Probably in a few weeks, not months.

Yesterday at the invitation of Edwin McCook of the Suwannee River Water Management District I went to see the problem. He and I and his consultant discussed the problem.

As you can see, getting that rammed-in driftwood out of all that dirt and sand would be quite a task to do by hand. Edwin decided to start with larger equipment. The catch is how to get it in there, and what can fit. He and the consultant are working up a plan.

There will still be need for volunteers to do manual cleanup, since the big equipment can’t get everything. Stay tuned, and we’ll let you know when that will happen. It will probably be several weeks yet.

[Down the steps]
Down the steps

Continue reading →