Columbia Springs
Columbia County’s Columbia Spring is in the Suwannee River Water Management District. Columbia Spring flows at the first magnitude level and is a designated Outstanding Florida Spring. This privately owned spring is located two miles northwest of High Springs on the Santa Fe River. Columbia is a resurgence spring, meaning it discharges a mixture of river water sourced from swallets and groundwater from the Floridan Aquifer. The spring and its run are surrounded by cypress and other swamp hardwood trees.
In 2016, the Florida Legislature passed the Florida Springs and Aquifer Protection Act.
Columbia Spring is currently one of the six Outstanding Florida Springs or Springs Groups that is considered “not impaired”.
Science Hub
This is the location for access to data related to this spring. Below, you will find links to reports, data, as well as maps and information from the Florida Springs Institute’s Blue Water Audit project about this particular spring or spring group.
The Blue Water Audit is a tool developed by the Florida Springs Institute to estimate and visualize the impact of human activities on the Floridan Aquifer. Using existing data from a variety of sources, the Blue Water Audit estimates nitrogen loading and groundwater withdrawals for the Florida Springs Region. These estimates are used to assign Aquifer Footprints – a Floridan Aquifer Nitrogen Footprint (water quality) and a Floridan Aquifer Groundwater Footprint (water quantity). Below are maps of the Blue Water Audit Floridan Aquifer Nitrogen footprint for the Columbia Springs springshed within the Suwannee River Water Management District, as well as a map of the land use within the Columbia Springs springshed. To find out more about the Blue Water Audit project and to learn how this tool was developed, visit Blue Water Audit.
DATA AND REPORTS
FDEP – Nutrient and Dissolved Oxygen TMDL for the Suwannee and Santa Fe Rivers
SRWMD – Minimum flows and Minimum Water Levels Re-Evaluation for the lower Santa Fe River
SRWMD – Minimum Flows Status Assessment for the Lower Santa Fe River
FGS – First Magnitude Springs of Florida
FSI – Santa Fe River and Springs Environmental Analysis
The Interactive Florida Springs Atlas was produced with generous support from the Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida. The Community Foundation of North Central Florida supported this project through generous support for our Blue Water Audit project.
