DeLeon Spring Story Map

DELEON SWIM AREA

Background

The DeLeon Spring is located in Volusia County and is part of the Lake Woodruff Planning Unit of the Middle St. Johns River. The BMAP area is approximately 65,392 acres. DeLeon Spring is a second magnitude spring located in DeLeon Spring State Park, 5 miles northwest of the town of DeLand. A series of lakes and creeks connects the headspring to the St. Johns River 12 miles downstream. This area includes the surface water basin as well as the groundwater contributing areas for the springs (or springshed). The springshed for the OFS was delineated or approved by St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) with input from the Florida Geological Survey (FGS). The StoryMap will display differently depending on the screen size and resolution being used. StoryMaps are best viewed in Chrome or Firefox browsers.

Springs Priority Focus Area

The PFA comprises 24,437 acres. The PFA represents the area in the basin where the aquifer is most vulnerable to inputs and where there are the most connections between groundwater and DeLeon Spring.

Find more information on the PFA  here .

Nitrogen Sources

The table lists the estimated nitrogen loads to groundwater by source based on the Nitrogen Source Inventory Loading Tool (NSILT) estimates. The pie chart provides a visual representation of the estimated percentage of nitrogen loading to groundwater by source in the springshed. Septic systems represent 14% of the nitrogen sources, Agriculture (Farm Fertilizer and Livestock Waste) 60%, and Urban Turfgrass Fertilizer 19%. Stormwater loading to groundwater is incorporated into the various source categories.

A table with total nitrogen load to groundwater for each source. The total nitrogen load for DeLeon basin is 205,708 pounds per year. A pie chart shows percent contribution of each nitrogen source to groundwater load. DeLeon source table and pie chart shows the nitrogen sources, load to groundwater in pounds of nitrogen per year, and percent contribution as follows: OSTDS 28,800 and 14%, urban turf fertilizer 38,873 and 19%, Atmospheric Deposition 12,199 and 6%, farm fertilizer 107,583 and 52%, sports turf grass 211 and 0.1%, livestock waste 17,264 and 8%, wastewater treatment facilities 778 and 0.4%.

Loading to groundwater by source in DeLeon Spring BMAP area - Click to enlarge

HOUSE ON WATER
HOUSE ON WATER

Policies

Onsite Sewage Treatment and Disposal System (OSTDS) Remediation Policy

Irrespective of the percent contribution from OSTDS, DEP has determined that an OSTDS remediation plan is necessary to achieve the TMDLs and to limit the increase in nitrogen loads from future growth.

  • Installation of New OSTDS
    • This OSTDS remediation plan prohibits new conventional systems on of one acre or less in the BMAP, unless the OSTDS includes enhanced treatment of nitrogen or unless the OSTDS permit applicant demonstrates that sewer connections will be available within 5 years.
  • Modification or Repair of Existing OSTDS
    • The remediation policy for existing systems applies to all existing OSTDS within the BMAP on lots of one acre or less.
    • Upon the need for repair or replacement, an existing OSTDS must include at least one of the following nitrogen reducing enhancements listed in the BMAP document, unless the OSTDS permit applicant demonstrates that sewer connections will be available within 5 years.
    • All conventional OSTDS in areas subject to the remediation policy for existing systems are required to adopt enhanced treatment of nitrogen or connect to sewer no later than 20 years after BMAP adoption.

Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF) Effluent Standards

  • The Florida Springs and Aquifer Protection Act prohibits new domestic wastewater disposal facilities in the BMAP, including Rapid Infiltration Basins (RIBs), with permitted capacities of 100,000 gpd or more, except for those facilities that provide AWT that reduces total nitrogen in the effluent to 3 mg/L or lower, on an annual permitted basis. DEP requires the nitrogen effluent limits listed below in any new or existing wastewater permit issued to a facility that discharges within the BMAP, unless the utility/entity can demonstrate reasonable assurance that the reuse or land application of effluent would not cause or contribute to an exceedance of the nitrate concentrations established by the TMDL.
  • The nitrogen effluent limits listed the table will be applied as an annual average to all new and existing WWTFs with a DEP-permitted discharge. New effluent standards will take effect at the time of permit issuance or renewal or no later than five years after BMAP adoption, whichever is sooner.
A table with nitrogen concentration limits for wastewater treatment facilities based on permitted capacity and disposal method.

WWTF effluent standards for existing and new DEP-permitted discharges within the BMAP.

Agriculture

  • Subsection 403.067, F.S., requires agricultural nonpoint sources in a BMAP area either to implement the applicable Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS)-adopted Best Management Practices (BMPs), which provides a presumption of compliance with water quality standards, or conduct water quality monitoring prescribed by DEP or St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) that demonstrates compliance with water quality standards.
  • Based on the Florida Springs and Aquifer Protection Act, Subsection 373.811(5), F.S., prohibits any new agricultural operations within the priority focus areas that do not implement applicable FDACS BMPs, measures necessary to achieve pollution reduction levels established by DEP, or groundwater monitoring plans approved by a Water Management District (WMD) or DEP.
    • FDACS will work with applicable producers within the BMAP area to implement BMPs.
    • Further reductions may be achieved through implementing additional agricultural projects or practices, including land acquisition and conservation easements.

Water Quality

Monitoring

Monitoring is required by all BMAPs. The purpose of the Outstanding Florida Spring (OFS) monitoring network is to support the evaluation of progress made toward achieving the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) target nitrate concentration for the impaired OFS. 

BMAP implementation involves an iterative process, therefore, the monitoring efforts are related to primary and secondary objectives. The primary objectives focus on achieving water quality targets, while the secondary objectives focus on water quality parameters that can be used to provide information for future refinements of the BMAP. The monitoring strategy may be updated as necessary.  

Documenting water quality improvements for the OFS will require periodic surface water sampling at the spring vent, groundwater monitoring, and biological monitoring. Surface water quality data are collected to determine if TMDL nitrate targets are being achieved. Flow data are collected in support of the secondary objective of calculating total nitrogen (TN) loading and tracking changes in TN loading in the basin. Groundwater well data are collected because the Upper Floridan Aquifer (UFA) well network is expected to respond to changes in nitrate concentration before the spring vents and rivers and will help identify the response of the UFA nitrate levels to different land uses and recharge rates. 

At a minimum, the core parameters will be tracked to determine the progress that has been made towards meeting the TMDL and/or achieving the numeric nutrient criteria (NNC). For this BMAP, nitrate is considered to be the key core parameter measured to track progress in decreasing nitrogen concentrations in groundwater and the water surfacing at the spring vent. The other parameters are considered supplementary parameters for the BMAP, as they build information about water quality in the groundwater and at the spring vent but are not direct measurements of impairment. 

List of core and supplemental water quality indicators and field parameters for this basin. Core parameters include Total Nitrogen, Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen, and Nitrate as Nitrogen. Supplemental water quality indicators include orthophosphate as phosphorus, total phosphorus, specific conductance, dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, TSS, TDS, turbidity, chloride, and color.

Biological responses to BMAP implementation may also be tracked. A significant amount of time may be needed for changes to be observed. 

DEP uses several monitoring tools designed to measure direct biological response to the water quality improvement or decline in springs. Rapid periphyton surveys (RPS) are conducted to assess the extent and abundance of attached algae (periphyton) and evaluate the autecological information associated with the dominant algae. Linear vegetation surveys (LVS) are conducted to assess the types and density of vegetation present and to identify the native versus non-native species. The LVS was designed to evaluate the ecological condition by determining how closely a site’s flora resembles that of an undisturbed system. Stream Condition Index (SCI) will be conducted to measure the number of different organisms present in the river and/or springs. In addition, habitat assessments (HAs) are conducted to assess the conditions and habitat present to support the SCI evaluation. Water quality samples should also be collected with the biological monitoring. 

List of biological response measures for spring runs, including chlorophyll a, Stream Condition Index score, Linear Vegetation Survey score, Rapid Periphyton Survey score, and key fish populations.

DEP continuously monitors the effectiveness of the monitoring network to fulfill the objectives stated in the BMAP and will continue to coordinate within and across jurisdictions to achieve water quality targets. 

Water Quality Analysis

The Protecting Florida Together water quality map delivers statewide water quality information. On this site, you can explore the Florida regions that are of interest to you. Individual waterbodies are color-coded based on the assessment status of nutrients and whether they are meeting standards.   

The water quality map has information on impairments under the “Water Impairment” tab based on the DEP watershed assessment process, in accordance with the Impaired Waters Rule. When sufficient data is available, you can click the button called “View Waterbody Trends” to see a graph of annual geometric mean concentrations (AGMs) for each parameter over the last 10 years. Additionally, the “Get More Data” button below the graphs allows users to search for additional monitoring data from the statewide database,  Watershed Information Network 

The Protecting Florida Together water quality maps and graphs can be accessed at the following link. 

Projects

Stakeholders submitted management strategies to the department with the understanding that the strategies would be included in the BMAP, thus requiring each entity to implement the proposed strategies in a timely way and achieve the assigned load reduction estimates. While the 20-year planning period for this BMAP is 2018 to 2038, projects completed since January 1, 2013, count toward the overall nitrogen reduction goals. The management strategies are ranked with a priority of high, medium, or low. Projects used in this BMAP that could have a significant impact in reducing nitrogen loads to the springs include extensive septic to sewer projects, wastewater treatment facility upgrades, fertilizer ordinances and implementation of farm fertilizer, livestock waste, and urban stormwater BMPs. For a full list of projects please visit the Statewide Annual Report.

Examples of stakeholder projects for the DeLeon Spring BMAP to reduce nitrogen sources.

  • Community outreach and education on water resources and nutrient pollution.
  • Agricultural BMP implementation and verification
  • Upgrade of wastewater treatment plants for better nitrogen removal.
  • Enhancement of OSTDS.

The BMAP implementation process uses adaptive management to adjust when circumstances change, or monitoring indicates the need for additional or more effective restoration strategies. Adaptive management measures may include recommending additional restoration projects, updating the information in the water quality model, updating the model itself, adjusting allocations, or including new statutory requirements.

Information on progress in the DeLeon Spring BMAP can be found in the latest  Statewide Annual Report 

Progress

Annually, DEP works with stakeholders to track BMAP project implementation and to review progress. The updated project list for the prior calendar year is presented by July 1 in the  Statewide Annual Report . A complete project list can be downloaded from this  site , for those interested in detailed project information.  To promote progress and implementation, BMAP stakeholders meet annually to follow up on plan implementation, share new information, and continue to coordinate TMDL restoration–related issues.  

In this BMAP, the following statements summarize the progress of the overall reductions and provide an indication of the challenges related to reducing pollutants from different sources. 

Overall 

  • Total nitrogen reductions are not on track to meet the next milestone. 

Urban Stormwater/Urban Turfgrass Fertilizer (UTF)/Sports Turfgrass Fertilizer (STF)

  • Local entities have struggled to identify and fund additional urban stormwater projects to achieve the necessary reductions. 

Farm Fertilizer/Livestock Waste

  • Some agricultural producers are not compliant in their requirements to enroll in appliable BMPs or conduct water quality monitoring.  
  • As agricultural loadings are an important source of loadings in this BMAP, regional projects and cost-share BMPs, which are the responsibility of the state, need to be identified and implemented to reduce agricultural loads. 
  • More information is needed on agricultural practices that improve loads to groundwater for springs protection. 

Wastewater 

  • The wastewater provisions in the BMAP have not yet been fully implemented but will be added as permits are renewed. 

OSTDS 

  • This BMAP has additional requirements for OSTDS enhancement or septic-to-sewer conversions that have recently gone into effect and have not been fully implemented. 

Contacts & More Information 

Ryne Nimmo

Voice: 850-245-8521

Resources

For more information on the Division of Environmental Assessment and Restoration's BMAP program, visit  https://floridadep.gov/bmaps .

For more information on all of the restoration plans developed with specific provisions for the protection and restoration of the state’s Outstanding Florida Springs, click  here .

Loading to groundwater by source in DeLeon Spring BMAP area - Click to enlarge

WWTF effluent standards for existing and new DEP-permitted discharges within the BMAP.