Beautiful, unique, in trouble

 

This is a good, and troubling, article about one of Florida's lesser-known but remarkable features -- its freshwater springs.  I have been to a couple of them, and they are beautiful.  And it troubles me that they are in trouble;  and like many environmental challenges that the world is facing, there are not easy answers to reverse course.

Descending Into Florida's Underwater Caves

(It's illustrated, so I recommend reading it.)

Three excerpts:

One: "Over the last several decades, a combination of development, population growth, climate change, overpumping of the aquifer and pollution from agriculture and sewage have wreaked havoc on Florida’s springs. Many springs show significantly reduced water flow. Others have stopped flowing entirely."

Two: "The State of Florida officially recognized that most of Florida’s springs were in trouble more than two decades ago, when, in 2001, Jeb Bush, then the governor, signed legislation creating the Florida Springs Initiative. The program provided the first of several subsequent pools of money for research, monitoring, education and landowner assistance to reduce the flow of sewage and fertilizer into springs and address declining spring flows. ... Data collected as a result of the initiative have allowed scientists to track the inexorable decline of Florida’s springs in excruciating detail. Importantly, these data show that efforts to protect springs have so far been ineffective, as nutrient pollution has continued to increase."

Three: "Over the last six years, the community organization Save Crystal River and the aquatic restoration company Sea & Shoreline have used a combination of state and federal funding to remove more than a quarter billion pounds of algae and nutrient-rich muck from the bottom of Crystal River and plant more than 350,000 eelgrass plants. ... As the replanted eelgrass beds have expanded, they’ve improved visibility and now even support a year-round population of Florida’s most famous vegetarians: manatees."

So there's hope.  Fixing this problem will require effort.  And investment.  And maybe a few less Floridians.