This was in today's paper:
http://gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar ... /1078/news
County looks to take steps to protect springs
By CINDY SWIRKO
Sun staff writer
Threatened springs
Hornsby Spring: Off U.S. 441 about 1 1/2 miles north of High Springs at Camp Kulaqua. The spring pool is about 100 by 200 feet. It has a run of almost a mile to the Santa Fe River.
Poe Spring: An Alachua County park about three miles west of High Springs off County Road 340. The pool is about 80 feet in diameter and about 18 feet deep. It has a run of about 200 feet to the Santa Fe.
Stricter regulations on development in parts of Alachua County will likely be needed to curb pollution of springs and groundwater after dye testing showed how quickly water travels underground to the Santa Fe River, county officials said Tuesday.
County commissioners heard a presentation from the county's Environmental Protection Department on the results of dye testing at Mill Sink and Lee Sink in the city of Alachua. The dye moved northwest and was detected - sometimes within two weeks - at various points, including the Santa Fe River and Hornsby Spring.
Officials fear that a growing volume of contaminants in runoff will flow into springs and wells, endangering the health of people and the natural systems.
"Water in Florida is like global climate change - it's a really big problem that we all know is there and is going to get worse," Commissioner Mike Byerly said. "We do studies that describe in ever more compelling detail the nature of the problem but policy always seems to lag behind our knowledge. What can Alachua County do about the problem, will the (environmental protection department) be making policy recommendations and, if so, what is the time frame?"
Environmental Protection Director Chris Bird said it is likely regulations will be sought eventually. Bird said a first step will be taken next week with a multi-county summit on spring protection that will bring together scientists, public officials and others to discuss worsening water quality.
The summit is set for Wednesday at 1 p.m. at Camp Kulaqua in High Springs.
"We are going to have to come up with some kind of a code that ties into land development," Bird said. "We have to choose our battles when we are looking at future land use and development. We know the springshed for the Santa Fe River is the northwestern quadrant of the county and we also know there is going to be a lot of growth there. This kind of study lets us target where we need to make the tough decisions."
Spring pollution is a growing worry statewide. The spring-fed Ichetucknee River bordering Columbia County and Silver Springs in Marion County have increasing nitrate contamination. Wakulla Springs -one of Florida's largest and deepest - is threatened by Tallahassee's sewage spray field, urban runoff and septic tanks.
Alachua County fears the same fate may await Hornsby and Poe Springs on the Santa Fe River unless protective measures are taken.
The county recently threatened to challenge a Suwannee River Water Management District stormwater permit at an Alachua Wal-Mart Supercenter, believing it could allow contamination. The county and Wal-Mart agreed to design changes to avert the challenge.
Such designs to better treat stormwater before it enters the aquifer could be among the future requirements, Bird said.
"Part of it may be what we call low-impact development - it doesn't mean you can't have development but it does mean you may have to put in a stormwater treatment basin that has to be better than the standard variety because of the geology it's sitting on," Bird said. "There are buffers that can be worked in. But frankly, we have a lot of work to do. And it doesn't matter what Alachua County does if we don't get High Springs and Alachua to be part of that."
Much of the area of concern is in Alachua and High Springs city limits.
Fay Baird of the Santa Fe Springs Working Group - part of a state Department of Environmental Protection initiative - said the summit is geared toward alerting officials to the threat and what could be done.
"The target audience is local elected officials in Gilchrist and Alachua County and then High Springs, Alachua and Newberry," Baird said. "It's an opportunity for them to hear about some issues before they have to confront them when they are doing land-use decisions."