De Leon Springs
Volusia County’s De Leon Spring is in the St. Johns River Water Management District. De Leon flows at the second magnitude and is a designated Outstanding Florida Spring. The first known inhabitants of the region were the Myaca who lived here for over 6,000 years and referred to the cool, clear spring as Acuera, or “Healing Waters.” The pool is enclosed by a concrete wall, which allows outflow to escape through a weir on the west side and fall three feet into the natural spring run that extends a quarter mile into Lake Woodruff. North and west of the spring are swampy, forested lowlands. The spring is situated within the 625-acre De Leon Springs State Park with public attractions including a hiking trail, educational boat tours, a 600-year-old cypress tree, a diverse butterfly garden, an artificial mill and pancake house, and opportunities to swim, fish, bike, and paddle.
In 2016, the Florida Legislature passed the Florida Springs and Aquifer Protection Act.
De Leon Springs 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 De Leon springshed within the St. Johns River Water Management District, as well as a map of the land use within the De Leon 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
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.
