Thanks to Dr. Robert Knight for this important information. We must continue to point out what it is that our springs need–in this case a whole lot less pumping, no matter what industry-influenced water management districts may say.
We must somehow convince our DEP and WMDs to stop giving permits to anyone requesting them. This, in itself, has our springs and rivers drying up. And just because you can see water there does not mean it is not drying up.
Water board members, DEP employees, please look at the actual numbers you have before you, not some model you can tweak and manipulate.
Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
jim.tatum@oursantaferiver.org
– A river is like a life: once taken,
it cannot be brought back © Jim Tatum
From 2012 through 2015 I directed the Florida Springs Institute’s Kings Bay Adaptive Management (KBAM) project. At that time, Kings Bay was suffering from poor water clarity and the decline of eelgrass beds.
The KBAM study demonstrated that the floating (phytoplanktonic) algal bloom in the bay could be partially controlled by shading with a shoreline blanket of aquatic plants. But this well-intentioned plan was shelved in favor of a more direct effort undertaken by Save Crystal River, a local homeowners group.
Unfortunately, two years after initial suction dredging and replanting, there was little evidence of recolonization of sea grasses. Noxious filamentous algae and low water clarity were still prevalent.
Eelgrass re-planting in Kings Bay and at other Florida locations has previously been attempted with little lasting success. As an aquatic ecologist interested in habitat restoration, I wish to understand why this recent effort was successful. If similar thriving eelgrass beds can be established in the Indian River Lagoon or in the lower St. Johns River, Florida’s starving east-coast manatees and other wildlife species dependent on healthy grass flats might also benefit.
While water quality in Kings Bay is an issue of concern, nutrient levels have not been reduced by recent state and local actions. Reduced nitrogen pollution is not the explanation for the recent eelgrass recovery in King’s Bay.
The Florida Springs Institute published the Kings Bay/Crystal River Springs Restoration Plan in 2016. That study noted that the most detrimental factor affecting the bay was the proliferation of free-floating micro-algae that reduced water clarity, reducing the light needed for seagrasses.
This algal bloom was directly attributed to reduced spring flows feeding the bay. Lower spring flows result in slower water flushing and in turn promote excessive phytoplankton growth and cloudy green water.
While there has been no reduction in regional groundwater pumping over the past decade there has been higher than average rainfall since 2018. Average spring flows respond rapidly to increased rain and have shown a significant increase over this recent time frame. Increased flows lead to reduced phytoplanktonic algal growth and clearer water, environmental factors which provide favorable conditions for the survival and propagation of eelgrass.
This plausible explanation for eelgrass recovery in no way diminishes the success of the homeowners’ heroic restoration efforts. But it does present a cautionary note.
Lasting Kings Bay restoration will only be achieved by significantly reducing groundwater pumping. Healthy, flowing springs are the lifeblood of the Florida manatee and Crystal River’s economic future.
Robert L. Knight, Ph.D., is executive director of the Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute in High Springs and the author of “Saving Florida’s Springs — A Prescription for Springs Health.”
