Gainer Spring Group
Bay County’s Gainer Spring Group is in the Northwest Florida Water Management District and is a designated Outstanding Florida Spring. Gainer is a first magnitude spring group that consists of five major and nine minor springs which collectively discharge approximately 100 million gallons of water per day. They were named after William Gainer, a surveyor who discovered this area during a trip with General Andrew Jackson’s army in 1818. Gainer Springs Group is surrounded by scrub pine vegetation and is a beloved recreation spot. It flows into the Econfina River which feeds Deer Point Lake Reservoir, the primary water source for Bay County. Outflows from the reservoir support St. Andrews Bay.
In 2016, the Florida Legislature passed the Florida Springs and Aquifer Protection Act.
Gainer Springs Group 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 Gainer Springs Group springshed within the Northwestwest Florida Water Management District, as well as a map of the land use within the Gainer Springs Group 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.
