Following the Water to Wakulla Spring

This video follows the flow of stormwater from downtown Tallahassee, Florida to Wakulla Spring. It is intended to educate Floridians about how water reaches the Floridan aquifer and ultimately reappears as a spring. What may be surprising about this journey is how many urban settings this water must travel through before becoming our drinking water and also the source of our beloved springs that we use for recreation and tourism.
We see a few of the sources of pollution to this water but this video does not show all of the specifics. Hopefully, the visual journey will make it more obvious to the viewer how vulnerable our water is to sources of pollution as it makes its long journey both on the surface and underground.
The video is not intended to answer all of the questions about the issues we face with our water but is intended to be a visual reflection of the journey our water takes so that we can formulate a better strategy for its protection.
As residents of Florida, it is up to us to reduce or eliminate our contribution of chemicals that cause nitrate pollution (treated sewage, septic waste, fertilizer from lawns) in order to protect all of our springs.
Florida’s springs are losing their clarity and becoming more choked with algae at an alarming rate due to nitrate pollution. While many believe they should be protected just for their beauty and the important role they play in aquatic ecosystem health, these springs are an enormous source of economic wealth in tourism and also indicators of the health of the water we drink. Florida is not Florida without its springs.
The future of Wakulla Spring is in Our Hands
(Editor’s note: the Smith Sewage Treatment Plant shown in the video does NOT flow into Munson Slough The treated effluent is sprayed over a 2000 acre field seven miles east where it percolates through sand to the aquifer and then to the Wakulla Cave which carries nitrate pollution to Wakulla Spring)

[@jul.escobar]

Thank you for sharing this info. Ive been curious of the flow.

[@benhalstead1246]

I live in wakulla county and have been so many times really is a great place to swim or see the wild life