---

Let’s talk about Florida’s lost springs. If you read my books or my blog, you know Florida has more freshwater springs than any other one place on the planet — roughly 1,000 of them.

Well, at least, it does now. Once upon a time, Florida had more springs.  We don’t know how many more, but we do know we had more.

Florida’s lost springs — the ones that stopped flowing, for whatever reason — have been on my mind a lot lately. Maybe it’s the weather; cold temps make me think of springs, because the water’s warmer than the air right now (I’m not built for winter of any sort, including Florida ones). Maybe it’s that the Florida Springs Council will be in my neighborhood Feb. 8 (if you’re in the area, stop by the Florida Springs Council Springs Summit for a live podcast taping with me and Ryan Worthington of the Florida Madcaps). Maybe it’s Chris Meindl’s new book, Florida Springs: From Geology to Politics and Restoration.

Whatever the case, Florida’s lost springs are on my mind. No, I don’t know how many there used to be in Florida. On this week’s podcast, Rick and I talk about a few of Florida’s lost springs, including White Sulphur Springs. We also talk about why springs go dry.

How Do Springs Go Dry?

In essence, springs go dry because we love them too hard. Usually that sort of “love” comes in the form of over-pumping, either the spring itself or from a well near the spring.

That “love” can also come from diverting the spring flow for, say, a “health resort” — this happened a lot during the heyday of springs as wellness centers.

Does Lost Mean Forever?

Some springs, such as White Sulphur Springs, do behave like a spring when there’s a lot of rainfall, but it does not have regular flow.  By contrast, Worthington Springs is simply gone.

Saltwater Intrusion and Florida’s Lost Springs

Another way a spring will become one of Florida’s “lost” springs is if it gets saltwater infiltration. The Floridan Aquifer is an underground limestone tunnel of sorts, filled with fresh water. The aquifer also has fissures and cracks, through which water escapes to the surface of the earth. Water flows to the surface either as a spring, a well, or a sink.

If we pump from one part of the aquifer too much, we can draw up not only that beautiful clear water from the aquifer, but the saltwater underlying it.

Once this happens, that spring is done. Saltwater is denser than freshwater, and once we suck it into a spring, we can’t push it back out of the spring.

I didn’t write this post to make anyone feel helpless; you can help. The biggest thing you can do to keep Florida springs from turning into Florida’s lost springs?

Stop drinking bottled water and drink tap water. In Florida, it’s some of the purest stuff on the planet because so much of Florida gets its water from the Floridan Aquifer.

Florida’s springs are the jewels of the inland, so make time to go see one while the weather’s cooperating.

OK, ready to visit a spring that isn’t crowded with people all the time? Check out Fanning Springs State Park.