Deep Trouble: Getting to the Source of Threats to Springs

http://www.floridasprings.org/protection/threats/[11/1/2010 3:12:04 PM]

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Deep Trouble: Getting to the Source

of Threats to Springs

To understand how our springs are threatened, we have to look upstream into the

aquifer and explore the springshed. Many of the problems affecting the springs occur

many miles upstream in the spring recharge area.

The major issues impacting the health of the springs include population growth,

urban sprawl, growing demand for groundwater and introduction of fertilizers,

pesticides and other pollutants to the springsheds.

Threats to the quality and quantity of water in Florida's aquifer and springs can be

classified into three different categories: inputs or the contaminants we put in;

outputs or the amount of water we take out of the aquifer; and impacts or the

physical damage we cause in and around the spring and downstream spring run.

Link below to learn more about the threats affecting our springs. Then, be sure to

link to Good Neighbors and How You Can Help to understand how you can protect

our springs.

Read Stories about people working to protect

springs. Go »

Steps you can take to help protect our springs.

Go »

View an interactive presentation to learn more

about our aquifer and human impacts on

Florida's springs. Go »

The quest for the perfect weed-free,

green lawn can have a major negative

impact on the environment. Link to

learn more. Go »

Florida's expanding population has put

pressure on natural spaces that serve as

important recharge areas for the aquifer

and springs. Link to learn more. Go »
Deep Trouble: Getting to the Source of Threats to Springs

http://www.floridasprings.org/protection/threats/[11/1/2010 3:12:04 PM]

Stormwater runoff from parking lots,

roads and other surfaces carry chemical

pollutants like petroleum by-products

from automobiles into retention ponds,

streams and rivers and also into the

aquifer. Link to learn more. Go »

Every day more than four billion gallons

of water are withdrawn from the aquifer

to satisfy demands of people, agriculture

and industry impacting water levels and

flow in the aquifer and springs. Link to

learn more. Go »

Illegal dumping of garbage, chemicals

and other human refuse into sinkholes

can lead to the rapid contamination of

the aquifer and springs. Link to learn

more. Go »

Row crop agriculture is an important part

of the state's economy. However,

intensive methods of farming can

introduce harmful fertilizers and

pesticides to our water supply. Link to

learn more. Go »

Each year, pollutants from tons of

animal wastes from livestock and

poultry farms make their way into the

aquifer and springs. Link to learn more.

Go »

Florida's golf courses occupy more than

two hundred thousand acres of land. Much

of this land is covered with varieties of

grass that are fertilized and treated with

pesticides that may leach into the

aquifer. Link to learn more. Go »

Publicly-owned springs are open for

everyone to enjoy, but each year

millions of visitors damage spring

environments by trampling vegetation

above and below water and by

carelessly discarding trash. Link to learn

more. Go »

Invasive plant species, some encouraged

by heavy nitrates in the water, are

choking many springs and spring runs.

Link to learn more. Go »

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