If Disney World is supposed to be the happiest place on Earth then Silver Springs, a wonder of the 19th century world, is surely the saddest. The springs and river have a lot of lyngbya cyanobacteria infiltration (see below) from the impact and runoff from millions of homes, septic tanks, and farms that have grown up around Ocala largely unchecked by a government bent on the outdated concept of economic growth at any cost. The result is darker, less amazing water. Ironically, none of this would have happened if Disney had not chosen Florida for his mega-theme parks.
The population of Marion County, where Silver Springs is located, has grown by 33% since 1990 to over 350,000 people, all needing water to survive.
The Silver Spring park is worn. It kind of resembles a place that has gone into retirement. The mall near the glass bottom boat launch is mostly empty, the gardens have been allowed to grow over with native plants (mostly poison ivy) and the "attractions" are all in ruins. Two of the original art deco glass bottom boats still ply the waters around the main spring but there are no lines, few tourists, and the few people who were hiking the park on a recent Saturday were reminiscing about how it was in the past, not impressed with its current condition.
Growth for Growth's Sake
I found it to be a sad statement of what successive Republican regimes in Tallahassee have made priority, economic growth, with no regard for the natural environment and its carrying-capacity for more growth. They are allowing the things that made Florida special to be systematically destroyed.
The water, and the idea that an average of 516 million gallons per day are bubbling up from the springs here is still amazing, but it is diminished from even the relatively recent past.
Springs' Importance to Florida
Florida's springs are among the State's most valued natural and scenic resources, and Silver Springs is the largest (in average flow) and by far the most famous. Springs are an important part of Florida's history, dating back to the days of early Spanish explorers including Ponce de León, who came in 1513 seeking "the Fountain of Youth" (see my photos of de León's mythical Fountain of Youth).
Springs' Past Use
Archeological evidence indicates that Indian villages were located near springs; native Floridians used the springs for their water supply and fished in the streams formed by the springs. Many of Florida's springs are tourist attractions and most are located in the northern half of the State.
Springs are the surface evidence of a vast underground water resource, the Floridian aquifer system, which has been strained to the breaking point by 20,000,000 residents and countless daily visitors to Florida. The Floridian aquifer supplies most of Florida's drinking water. The large quantities of water discharged from Florida springs indicate the large capacity of the underground aquifer system to store and transmit water.
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| Cypress knees are a hazard when hiking. Here I have my boot on one that caught my foot and almost took me down. All along the Silver River there are plenty of cypress knees which are thought to help stabilize their parent plants and perhaps transport oxygen to the large trees. |
Florida's springs provide the base flow for many of the streams and rivers that are used for boating, fishing, swimming, scuba diving, and snorkeling in the state. The nearly constant temperature of spring water creates an ideal habitat for many plants and animals.
900 Known Springs Exist in Florida
The more than 900 known springs in Florida discharge about 12,300 cubic feet per second or nearly 8 billion gallons of fresh water per day. This equals what the state was using for all purposes in 1990 when the human population was only 13,000,000. With a Florida population approaching 21,000,000, water use is assumed to be nearly double what it was in 1990 or about 16 billion gallons per day. Floridians are estimated to use about 103 gallons of water per day, each (x 21 million = 2 billion, 163 million gallons per day). Add in a million tourists, golf courses, lawn watering, fountains, swimming pools, etcetera and you quickly see where Florida's water is going. And, it is therefore not surprising that Florida's springs are suffering.
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| Swarms of water bugs (and every other imaginable insect) were around the spring on a recent Saturday afternoon. |
Factors Controlling Spring Flow
The amount of water that flows from springs depends on many factors, including the size of the caverns within the rocks, the water pressure in the aquifer the size of the spring basin, and the amount of rainfall. Human activities greatly influence the volume of water that discharges from a spring—ground-water withdrawals in an area can reduce the pressure in an aquifer, causing water levels in the aquifer sysem to drop and ultimately decrease the flow from the spring.
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| A healthy crop of Poison Ivy was found throughout the park where gardens once were tended. The water features were all dry and in disrepair. |
Springs are Classified by Magnitude
Springs are ranked according to the volume of water flowing from the ground. Discharge from Florida's springs can range from less than 1 pint per minute (8th magnitude) to more than 64.6 million gallons per day (1st magnitude).
Florida has more first-magnitude springs than any other state in the Nation. The sum of the average flow from Florida's 33 first-magnitude springs is estimated to be 9,400 cubic feet per second (6 billion 75 million gallons per day) or about 76 percent of the average flow of all the known springs in Florida.
Several first-magnitude springs are internationally known (Silver Springs, Rainbow Springs, Wakulla Springs, and Weeki Wachee). About 70 springs are second-magnitude collectively discharging about 2,600 cubic feet per second (1 billion 680 million gallons per day) or about 21 percent of the total discharge from all known Florida springs. More than 190 springs are third-magnitude or less; these collectively discharge more than 300 cubic feet per second (194 million gallons per day), or about 3 percent of the total discharge from all Florida springs.
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| Chief Osceola (1804-1838) On October 23, 1834, the Seminole Indians met in council at Silver Springs to discuss demands of the United States for their removal to the West. Osceola, then an obscure sub-chief, swayed the council with his oratory and set the Indians against removal. This was the real beginning of the Great Seminole War of 1835-42, in which as head war-chief, Osceola became an important Indian military genius and strategist of American history. He was captured through deception and died at Fort Moultrie, Charleston, January 30, 1838. |
Which Spring is Florida's Largest?
It all depends on how you measure largest. Highest discharge ever? Average discharge? Cumulative discharge from springs in a group? Wikipedia has a long list of the Major Springs in Florida along with their flow rates and locations.
Spring Creek Springs and Crystal River Springs are the two largest springs in Florida. Discharge measured from Spring Creek Springs (a group of eight known vents) in 1974 was about 2,000 cubic feet per second or 1 billion, 293 million gallons per day. The average discharge from Crystal River Springs is 878 cubic feet per second or 567 million gallons per day from 30 individual spring vents. Both of these springs are located near the coast. The discharge of springs near the coast is commonly affected by tides.
Silver Springs is the largest inland spring in the State (based on average discharged). Measured discharge from Silver Springs ranges from 517 to 1,290 cubic feet per second (334 to 834 million gallons per day), with an average discharge of 799 cubic feet per second or 516 million gallons per day based on records from 1933 to 1993. The highest recorded discharge from any inland Florida spring is 1,910 cubic feet per second or 1 billion 234 million gallons per day, measured at Wakulla Springs. Wakulla's maxium discharge is about 50% greatner than the maximum measured discharge from Silver Springs (1,290 cubic feet per second, 834 million gallons per day). Wakulla Springs also has the greatest range in discharge of all Florida springs, from 25 cubic feet per second to 1,910 cubic feet per second (16 million to 1 billion 234 million gallons per day); however the average discharge at Wakulla (391 cubic feet per second, 253 million gallons per day) is less than half that of Silver Springs' average of 799 cubic feet per second or 516 million gallons per day. See my photos of Wakulla Springs.
Water Quality of Springs
The quality of water discharged by springs can vary greatly because of factors such as the quality of the water that recharges the aquifer and the type of rocks with which the ground water is in contact. The rate of flow and the length of the flowpath through the aquifer affects the amount of time the water is in contact with the rock, and thus, the amount of minerals that the water can dissolve. The quality of the water also can be affected by the mixing of freshwater with pockets of ancient seawater in the aquifer or with modern seawater along the coast.
Water from Florida springs is usually remarkably clear. Water from some springs, however, may be tea-colored, indicating the presence of tannic acid. If surface water (runoff from roads, gas stations, homes, farms) enters the aquifer near a spring, the water can move quickly through the aquifer and discharge at the spring vent. The discharge of highly colored water from springs can indicate that water is flowing quickly through large channels within the aquifer without being filtered through limestone.
Lyngbya,
A New Problem for
Silver Springs
A new problem facing Florida's springs is the invasion of cyanobacteria (above), specifically Lyngbya. Lyngbya is not a plant, a fungus, a bacteria, or a true algae. It is a primitive lifeform called a cyanobacteria (a blue-green algae capable of photosynthesis even in low light conditions). It forms dense mats in springs and rivers near springs particularly from the Ocala National Forest westward indicating the presence of unnatural fertilizers and fecal runoff in spring and river water.
Lyngbya forms long filamentous hair-like strands that mat together in thick layers, sometimes 5 feet thick. It can rise 10-15 feet from a river's bottom tot eh water's surface. It is slimy to touch because of the mucus-like coating it produces. Large floating mats of lyngbya rise to the surface because of the gases released by the bacteria that live inside the mats that deplete oxygen from the water body.
Thick mats of Lyngbya can clog spring vents and reduce flow, drowd out benefical native grasses, and block sunlight to plants growing on the bottom. It is also potentially toxic to manatees who it because native grasses are depleted.
In humans Lyngbya can cause skin irritations, eye infections and other health related issues.
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| A wildly twisted Sabal Palm surviving from the days when there were extensive gardens at Silver Springs |
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| The once proud entrance to Silver Springs framed by massive, ancient, bald cypress trees |
For frequently asked questions about Florida springs check out the Florida's Springs FAQ page which answers commonly asked questions about springs in Florida.
A couple of headlines from the Gainesville Sun and the Ocala StarBanner. Spraying watered down animal excrement on fields near springs. . . c'mon, does anyone really think that's a good idea?
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| No lines for glass bottom boat tours on a recent Saturday afternoon. |
Who has Jurisdiction
over Silver Springs?
The St. Johns River Water Management District is responsible for protecting Silver Springs, however, the District's budget has been severely cut in recent years by successive Republican regimes in Tallahassee who do not see the value of Florida's natural resources. See Republican Gov. Rick Scott orders more budget cuts at Water Management Districts.
Other Factors Affecting Florida's Springs: Drought
Spring flow is closely tied to rainfall, and record low rainfall over the past decade in many areas of florida caused many springs to experience reductions in flow from historic levels. At the same time, many springs also experienced changes in their ecology, such as increased algal growth, declines in native submersed aquatic vegetation, increases in nonnative or exotic vegetation, and lower fish abundance.
Recreation concentrated in springs and their downstream spring runs has caused physical damage as visitors impact springs by damaging vegetation in and around the springs and by discarding trash carelessly. Swimming, snorkeling and tubing in spring runs can cause water to be cloudy, or turbid, which prevents sunlight from reaching underwater grasses. Here at the main boil of Silver Springs there was no shortage of trash floating in the shallows.
Water quality has also declined as the residential and commercial use of fertilizers and wastewater from treatment plants and septic tanks has increased in the state's springsheds with explosive human population growth.
Water quality has also declined as the residential and commercial use of fertilizers and wastewater from treatment plants and septic tanks has increased in the state's springsheds with explosive human population growth.
Ruins of the Wilderness Trail Ride
While there were many different rides and attractions at Silver Springs over the years this is one I remember most fondly. The Wilderness Trail Ride was a Jeep ride where guests were taken through a 35-acre section of forest surrounding the park to see many of the native species and animals and see more Silver Springs history (such as Rhesus Monkeys and Tarzan's house from the original Tarzan movies filmed here in the 1930s).
All that remains today is a decaying dock and overgrown boardwalk that abruptly ends in multiple directions. For more information on past attractions at Silver Springs see: Silver Springs Attractions, but know they are all gone today.
Yield to Glass Bottom Boats
Florida Today
Litter, Trash, Garbage
Just outside Silver Springs where Six Gun Territory once to beckoned for Wild West shows there are now strip malls, major highways, and garbage everywhere. This is not a sight unique to Silver Spring. This is Florida today. Overrun and under-appreciated by careless residents and visitors. The image below was made at a gas station directly across from the park. At least this trash was near a receptacle. Much trash was blowing around in streets and parking lots. Would it really be so hard to carry this home and deposit it in a bin?
The garbage and litter I find most annoying are plastic water and sports drink bottles. There is not one space in Florida that you couldn't stop and collect a trash bag full of these bottles. It is an epidemic. I count 4 plastic water or sports drink bottles in my image below.
We've Read and Watched:
Don't Forget to Shower!
Aggressive, infectious bacteria species found in Sydney, Australia Harbor
Aggressive, infectious bacteria species found in Sydney, Australia Harbor
An aggressive species of marine bacteria responsible for many more deaths than sharks worldwide each year has been found in Sydney Harbor, with experts predicting outbreaks in spots along the city's waterfront as water temperatures rise with global warming. Vibrio bacteria, which includes the species that causes cholera, can cause serious illness in humans and animals, including gastrointestinal sickness through consumption of contaminated seafood and flesh-eating infections in swimmers. Don't forget to shower!
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Jihadi mentor mingled crime with religion. Khalid Zerkani dubbed the "Santa Claus of Jihad." Belgian authorities called him the "archetype of a seditious mentor." Why is he still alive? Related: The Islamic State of Molenbeek.
When it comes to climate change, the science is in and the debate is over. Except in Florida, of course. See also: Florida Republican Gov. Rick Scott bans the term 'climate change' to all state agencies.
The artists behind Discovery's 'Naked and Afraid'