FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 14, 2014
DEP DEVELOPS RESTORATION GOALS FOR WEEKI WACHEE SPRING AND RIVER
~Nutrient goals pave way for restoration plan development~
TALLAHASSEE –The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is proposing water quality restoration goals to address nutrient pollution in Weeki Wachee Spring and River. The restoration goals, known as Total Maximum Daily Loads, will identify nitrate reductions necessary to meet the water quality standards that protect human health and aquatic life.
The underwater tourist attraction at Weeki Wachee Spring, which first opened in 1947, is one of the oldest in Florida. In 2008, Weeki Wachee became one of Florida's state parks. The park employs 80 Floridians and hosts over 200,000 visitors per year.
“We thank Governor Scott and the Florida Legislature for supporting the important restoration work done by the Department,” said DEP Secretary Herschel T. Vinyard Jr. “Whether for Weeki Wachee Spring or other waterbodies throughout Florida, the state’s world class scientists ensure restoration moves forward aggressively but smartly. Without solid science to tell us the causes of impairment and the needs of our aquatic systems, we would have no basis to guide our restoration efforts.”
Nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus are naturally present in surface waters, and they are necessary for the plants and animals living there. But when excess levels of nutrients cause an imbalance in the ecosystem, which is the current case in many springs across Florida, algal mats and other problems for aquatic life result. The primary nitrogen sources to the Weeki Wachee system include septic tanks, residential fertilizer and agriculture.
“Setting aggressive but achievable restoration goals based on current science is the key to improving the water quality in Florida's springs, especially for historic and economically important waters like Weeki Wachee,” said Tom Frick, Director of DEP’s Division of Environmental Assessment and Restoration.
Establishing the restoration goals for this waterbody allows the Department to proceed to the next step, developing and implementing restoration plans in cooperation with local stakeholders.
The proposed restoration goals for Weeki Wachee, along with those being simultaneously proposed for Kings Bay and Volusia Blue springs, will bring the total number of springs within waterbodies that have an adopted or proposed restoration goal to 345; another 37 springs are within waterbodies anticipated to be covered by restoration goals by the end of 2014.
More information on the TMDLs proposed for Weeki Wachee can be found on the Department's website at http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/tmdl.
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