Crystal River - King's Bay Group
More than 70 springs feed into Kings Bay and the Crystal River in Citrus County. These springs discharge a collective 580 million gallons of water per day. This first magnitude spring system is designated as an Outstanding Florida Spring and is in the Southwest Florida Water Management District. The sprawling aquatic ecosystem has long served as a harbor for West Indian Manatees during the winter season. As with all springs, the stable water temperature attracts them from the Gulf of Mexico’s seasonally colder waters. The area around Kings Bay contains a mosaic of development and conservation lands. The city of Crystal River lies on the eastern shore; new finger canals and increased wastewater discharges have impaired the Bay as the city has grown. Elevated nutrient loads from septic systems and fertilizer uses, coupled with significant flow reductions due to increasing groundwater pumping have created algal blooms that have decimated the natural eelgrass cover in Kings Bay. Crystal River Preserve State Park and Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge, established in response to declining ecosystem health, work to protect and restore the Bay.
In 2016, the Florida Legislature passed the Florida Springs and Aquifer Protection Act.
Crystal River (including King’s Bay) Spring Group is currently one of the twenty four Outstanding Florida Springs or Springs Groups that is considered “impaired”.
Historic images
The following images were provided courtesy of the State Archives of Florida. This incredible photographic library provides a window into the historic spring landscape, documenting changing spring and surface water levels, as well as human use and development in this special location.
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 Crystal River (including Kings Bay) springshed within the Southwest Florida Water Management District, as well as a map of the land use within the Crystal River (including Kings Bay) 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 – Crystal River/Kings Bay BMAP
FDEP – Nutrient TMDL for Kings Bay
USGS – Water Data – Crystal River at Mouth of Kings Bay
USGS – Timing of Warm Water Refuge Use in Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge by Manatees
SWFWMD – Kings Bay Vegetation Mapping and Evaluation – 2014
SWFWMD – Crystal River/Kings Bay SWIM Plan
SWFWMD – Recommended Minimum Flow for Crystal River/Kings Bay System
SWFWMD – Minimum Flow and Level Peer Review
FGS – First Magnitude Springs of Florida
FSI – Kings Bay/Crystal River Springs Restoration Plan
FSI – Kings Bay Adaptive Management Phytoremediation Demonstration Project
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.
