Exploring the Ichetucknee Springshed
This map highlights the path of water from the Santa Fe and Ichetucknee Rivers as it joins with the Suwannee River to ultimately end up in the Gulf of Mexico.
Forming the boundary between Columbia and Suwannee counties within North Central Florida's Suwannee River Water Management District , the Ichetucknee River is a 5.5-mile long tributary of the Santa Fe River.
The Santa Fe River, in turn, flows into the Suwannee River. The Suwannee’s final destination is the Gulf of Mexico, as shown in the map on the left.
Tubers on the Ichetucknee. Photo by John Moran
One of Florida’s primary recreational sites, the Ichetucknee River was designated an Outstanding Florida Water in 1984. The upper portion of the river flows for 3.2 miles through undeveloped riparian lands within Ichetucknee Springs State Park . Most of the river that lies within the park’s boundaries is less than 6 feet deep.
When the river reaches the bridge at U.S. Highway 27, it leaves the park and flows another 2.3 miles before its confluence with the Santa Fe. On average, the Ichetucknee contributes about 25 percent of the flow in the Santa Fe River and about 4 percent of the flow in the Suwannee River.
Formed by the cumulative groundwater discharge from nine named springs and numerous underwater spring vents, the Ichetucknee River is home to a vast array of plants and wildlife. Underwater plants are the foundation of the river’s complex food web that supports insects, reptiles, amphibians, fish, mammals and birds. Freshwater springs and spring runs are some of the world's most productive ecosystems.
An example of a springs food web. Diagram by Tessa Skiles. For more springs science, visit Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute
Karst & The Floridan Aquifer
Extent of the Floridan Aquifer System.
The Ichetucknee River System is a window into the massive underground water feature known as the Floridan Aquifer System, which includes the Upper Floridan and Lower Floridan aquifers. Over 100,000 square miles in area, it underlies all of Florida and parts of southern Alabama, southeastern Georgia, southern South Carolina and a small part of southeastern Mississippi, as shown in the map on the left. The groundwater in the aquifer comes from rainfall.
Here in North Florida, the groundwater within the Floridan Aquifer supplies our drinking water; it also supplies the drinking water for the cities of Daytona Beach, Gainesville, Tampa, Jacksonville, Ocala, Orlando, St. Petersburg and Tallahassee, among others.
An example of karst limestone. Photo by Harley Means.
Springs such as the Ichetucknee occur in what is called karst topography, a landscape characterized by caves, sinkholes, fissures, and other openings that are formed when rainfall dissolves limestone. Because these openings can allow anything that reaches the ground to seep into the aquifer, it is important to understand how human activities above ground can help or harm the underground water that nourishes us.
In places where the Floridan Aquifer is high enough and where the underlying water pressure is strong enough, water is forced up from the aquifer through these openings to emerge as springs and rivers.
Overview of aquifer recharge. Diagram by Haley Moody, Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute
Water makes its way to the aquifer in a process called recharge, where rainfall seeps underground through the limestone below. The overall land surface area where rainfall recharges the aquifer and contributes groundwater to a specific spring is called a springshed.
The Ichetucknee Springshed
The Ichetucknee Springshed includes areas as far away as Lake City, Alligator Lake, and parts of Baker County. Water flows from these areas toward the Ichetucknee above ground from surface runoff in creeks and below ground by entering the aquifer through swallets and sinkholes.
Dye trace studies have shown there are direct underground water routes between area sinkholes and the Ichetucknee springs.
The Ichetucknee Trace
The Ichetucknee Trace is the historical route of the Ichetucknee River, which used to flow from Alligator Lake in Lake City to what is now the Ichetucknee Head Spring.
Because of the karstic environment and the many creeks, sinks and swallets within the Trace, the best way to protect the groundwater in this area from pollution is to protect the land above it.
Protecting water quality in the Trace helps to protect water quality in the Ichetucknee, so the importance of this area for the restoration, preservation and protection of the Ichetucknee cannot be overstated.
As water in the springshed makes its way to the springs, it picks up and carries pollutants from a variety of sources. The primary pollutant that affects the Ichetucknee is nitrate nitrogen.
In the Ichetucknee Springshed, nitrate sources include fertilizers used on farms, ranches, and lawns as well as waste from farm and domestic animals. Human waste from septic tanks, stormwater runoff and wastewater treated by municipal sewage systems are also sources.
All these pollutants eventually reach the Ichetucknee, where they damage water quality and can, in combination with lost spring flow, contribute to algae growth.
Ichetucknee Springshed Tour
Jim Stevenson, former chief biologist for the Florida Park Service/Florida Department of Environmental Protection, understood how vital it is for elected representatives and community leaders to understand how human behavior can affect the Floridan Aquifer and the Ichetucknee.
Stevenson, a member of the Ichetucknee Alliance's Advisory Board, created and led tours of the Ichetucknee Springshed for many years.
This virtual springshed tour shares his insights with what we hope will be an even wider audience.
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Lake City Storm Drain
Our tour of the Ichetucknee Springshed begins far away from the banks of the Ichetucknee River, in downtown Lake City.
Stormwater from the surrounding city carries pollutants that can reach Alligator Lake, the next stop on our tour.
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Alligator Lake
Alligator Lake is the ancient headwater of the Ichetucknee River System. Geologically, the Ichetucknee Trace begins here.
Water from the lake sometimes drains into the Upper Floridan aquifer. From there, the water flows toward the Ichetucknee.
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Clayhole Creek
Clayhole Creek flows southwest from Alligator Lake toward the Ichetucknee Trace and drains into the Upper Floridan aquifer at Black Sink, Clayhole Sink and Dyal Sink.
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Cannon Creek
Cannon Creek begins at U.S. 90 and flows south from Lake City, where it drains into the Upper Floridan aquifer at Cannon Sink.
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Cannon Creek Sink
At the intersection of I-75 and SR 47, water from Cannon Creek and stormwater runoff from the highways and nearby developments drain into the Upper Floridan aquifer at Cannon Sink. From there, water flows underground toward the Ichetucknee.
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Lake City Treatment Wetlands & Sprayfields
Treated wastewater from Lake City arrives at this location in the Ichetucknee Trace to be filtered through man-made wetlands or sprayed on land before it enters the Upper Floridan aquifer.
Filtering water through wetlands removes nutrients that can contribute to algae growth in the Ichetucknee.
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Dyal Sink
Dyal Sink in Clayhole Creek funnels water from the surrounding land into the Upper Floridan aquifer, where the water flows to the Ichetucknee.
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Columbia City Elementary School
Dye trace studies showed that it took two days for dye to travel from a sink at the south boundary of Lake City’s sewage sprayfield to wells at Columbia City Elementary School. Those wells provided water for 680 students and 90 staff members.
Once the link between the sprayfield and the school’s drinking water was established, the school was provided with city water via a 12-inch pipe. Dye trace studies demonstrate the importance of scientific research and the sensitivity of the Floridan aquifer within the Ichetucknee Trace.
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Rose Creek
South of Clayhole Creek, the water in Rose Creek flows west for 10 miles through Columbia County and enters the Floridan aquifer at Rose Swallet.
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Rose Swallet
Just 100 feet north of Rose Sink, water from Rose Creek is swallowed into the Upper Floridan aquifer at Rose Swallet. From there, water flows underground to the Ichetucknee.
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Rose Sink & Cave System
Water from the surrounding area, including SR 47 and nearby businesses, enters the Upper Floridan aquifer at Rose Sink, a “karst window” into the underground aquifer.
There is a cave large enough for diver exploration from Rose Sink to McCormick Sink. Dye trace studies have shown that water travels underground from Rose Sink to the Ichetucknee.
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The Ichetucknee Springs & River
After moving through the aquifer and surface waters of the springshed, water reaches the Ichetucknee.
The Ichetucknee Springs & River
A tributary of the Santa Fe River, the Ichetucknee River may be more correctly described as the Ichetucknee Spring Run since under normal conditions, most of its water comes from the springs that feed it.
The Ichetucknee flows 5.5 miles from the north entrance of Ichetucknee Springs State Park to its confluence with the Santa Fe River. Human activities have damaged this once-pristine spring run, which has lost approximately 20% of its historical average flow and now has nitrate pollution that is twice the state standard.
Let's take a closer look at the Ichetucknee River and its springs.
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Ichetucknee Head Spring
This historic second-magnitude spring and most of the other springs along the river are fed by the same Upper Floridan aquifer that provides drinking water for millions of Floridians. Native American artifacts have been found in the area of the Head Spring, which has been a popular swimming hole for decades.
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Cedar Head Spring
This third-magnitude spring is the source of a small creek that flows into Blue Hole Spring and then into the Ichetucknee River.
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Blue Hole Spring
This historic first-magnitude spring, the largest in the Ichetucknee Spring Group, gets its name from the deep blue color of the water. Accessed by a hiking trail from the Head Spring, Blue Hole is popular with free divers and cave divers as well as swimmers.
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Mission Springs Group
Roaring Spring and Singing Spring are included in what is commonly referred to as Mission Springs, which explains why you may see references to either eight or nine named springs along the Ichetucknee.
The flow of this historic second-magnitude springs group splits to pass along both sides of Fig Island as the water makes its way to the Ichetucknee.
Around 1608, early Spanish explorers founded Mission San Martín de Timucua on the bank above these two springs. The mission was abandoned following epidemics and a revolt by Native Americans.
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Devil's Eye Spring
This historic second-magnitude spring is featured in Gainesville photographer John Moran’s “then and now” photographs which reveal the damage that human activities are causing to our springs.
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Grassy Hole Spring
Access to this shallow third-magnitude spring on the east bank of the Ichetucknee is restricted by the Florida Park Service.
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Mill Pond Spring
Also on the east side of the Ichetucknee, water from this low second-magnitude spring was used to power the wheel of a gristmill that operated sometime between 1830 and 1860.
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Coffee Spring
This historic third-magnitude spring is the only known habitat of the microscopic Ichetucknee Siltsnail; because of that, access is restricted by the Florida Park Service. Geologists have not yet determined whether the water in this spring comes from the Upper Floridan aquifer or from some other source.
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Confluence of the Santa Fe & Ichetucknee Rivers
After flowing through Ichetucknee Springs State Park and Three Rivers Estates, the Ichetucknee enters the Santa Fe River.
A limestone shelf at the confluence prevents manatees from entering the Ichetucknee when water is low. When water levels are higher, manatees swim up into the Ichetucknee where they have recently been seen in increasing numbers.
From the confluence, water joins the flow of the Santa Fe as it makes its way to the Suwannee and ultimately to the Gulf of Mexico.
Throughout the Ichetucknee Springshed and especially the Ichetucknee Trace, what we do above ground has the potential—for better or for worse—to affect the purity of our drinking water in the Floridan aquifer and the clarity of water in the Ichetucknee River System. In this sensitive karst environment, it makes sense to do as much as we can to stop pollution at the source.
The health of the Ichetucknee, our personal health, and the health of our economy are interconnected through the health of the aquifer. These close connections are worthy of our respect and our care.
Photos by John Moran
