The Santa Fe and Ichetucknee
A Citizen's Guide to protecting the
rivers and springs of the Santa Fe Basin
The Santa Fe and Ichetucknee Rivers and their springs are suffering, and protection of these resources is largely in the hands of State agencies. Their flow has fallen below the level that can sustain a healthy ecosystem. Why? How do we fix it? The key to reversing the damage and protecting our area's waterways is for those of us who love and depend on the water in this basin to be informed and involved. This is your roadmap.
Be an active advocate for the Santa Fe River.
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Overhead view of the Santa Fe River and Poe Spring
Photo by Kelly Del Valle
The Santa Fe River's flow has declined
The Santa Fe and Ichetucknee Rivers' flows are in decline because consumptive use permits are issued beyond what the aquifer can sustain. In theory, the permitting system overseen by the water management districts ensures that water is distributed to those who want to use it, for public supply, agriculture, or industry, without harming the environment, but the Santa Fe and Ichetucknee Rivers continue to lose flow. What has gone wrong, and what tools are available to address it?
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This graph shows the decline in Santa Fe River’s flow, decade-by-decade.
The river's flow is so low that it is in violation of law.
It has been below its mandated
Minimum Flow and Level (MFL) since 2015
Florida Statutes require the State to establish Minimum Flows and Levels (MFLs) to determine “the limit at which further withdrawals would be significantly harmful to the water resources or ecology of the area.”
Both Santa Fe River and the nearby Ichetucknee River fell below their required minimum flows (MFLs) in 2015.
Falling below the MFL triggers the adoption of a “recovery strategy” to restore adequate flows. State law requires the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to adopt a recovery strategy, which should set a limit on water use permits to protect the ecology of the rivers and their associated springs and restore flow. Has it?
In 2015 a Recovery Strategy was adopted.
But why hasn't it helped?
Not only have flows not been restored, pumping has INCREASED in the eight years since the recovery strategy was implemented.
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This is because the strategy did not include regulations to limit current or even new withdrawals.
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Existing pumping permits were not reduced.
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Renewal permits were approved for five years. Even where increased pumping from the permit would further harm the Santa Fe and Ichetucknee, such as with the contested “Seven Springs Bottling Permit” at Ginnie Springs.
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Clearly, these rivers can not recover the necessary flow to prevent significant harm as long as the permits that caused the problem in the first place are allowed to operate unchanged!
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Even NEW applications or renewals asking for an increase were approved unless they demonstrated an impact on the rivers.
DEP is currently drafting a new MFL (minimum flow and level) rule for the Santa Fe and Ichetucknee Rivers.
It is up to the residents of the Santa Fe Basin to be engaged in the process to strengthen the updated Recovery Strategy.
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Sign up to get all the info you need on who to write, call, and where to show up to speak up for our rivers.
For a Deep Dive
Read the Report on the Recovery Strategy for the Santa Fe and Ichetucknee Rivers. Click the PDF icon to open or download.
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