FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS: MITIGATING THE IMPACT OF SEWAGE EFFLUENT ON WAKULLA SPRING IN NORTH FLORIDA

Wakulla Spring is the second or third largest spring in Florida and the undisputed Crown Jewel of Florida State Parks. Its average discharge is 950,000 m3/day from a single elliptical vent that measures 60 meters by 30 meters. The water can be clear at times and tea colored at others but at all times provides the key ingredient for making Wakulla Spring one of Florida's most popular natural attractions. The problem is that groundwater quality has been steadily degrading due to increasing nitrate levels promoting the growth of algae and invasive plants (hydrilla) that are literally choking the spring basin and killing or driving off indigenous species.

To combat the problem, focused groundwater tracing experiments were designed to evaluate the hydraulic connectivity between the largest source of nitrate in the basin (the City of Tallahassee's wastewater spray field) and Wakulla Spring, approximately 12 miles away. The results of the test showed that nitrate-laden groundwater beneath the spray field flows to Wakulla Spring via karstic conduits with a travel-time of approximately two months. After considerable deliberation, it was decided that public presentation was the best method for delivering the results to local policy makers. In doing so, the importance of second-hand interpretations were minimized and public opinion was sufficiently galvanized to force action wherein the City capitulated in a lawsuit and agreed to 160 million dollars for infrastructure upgrades aimed at reducing nitrate levels in the treated sewage effluent. The lesson learned has been that the key to leveraging science for effective resource management is public education and omitting the middleman from that discourse.