Jackson Blue Springs
Jackson County’s Blue Springs is a first magnitude spring in the Northwest Florida Water Management District. Jackson Blue is a designated Outstanding Florida Spring. Jackson Blue and six smaller springs feed the artificially-impounded Merritt’s Mill Pond. The south end of the spring pool connects to a lowland cypress-gum forest, and the northern half of the pool is surrounded by clear, grassy, upward-sloping ground. The spring is located within the Blue Springs Recreation Area, which features diving boards, slides, a pavilion-covered picnic area, a bath house, and a dive center offering equipment rentals.
In 2016, the Florida Legislature passed the Florida Springs and Aquifer Protection Act.
Jackson Blue 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 Jackson Blue springshed within the Northwest Florida Water Management District, as well as a map of the land use within the Jackson Blue springshed. To find out more about the Blue Water Audit project and to learn how this tool was developed, visit Blue Water Audit.
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.
