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HERNANDO COUNTY LAND PROTECTORS
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at the Weeki Wachee Area Club
7442 Shoal Line Blvd., Weeki Wachee FL 34607
Covered Dish dinner at 6:00 PM Meeting at 7:00 PM
NEXT MEETING - Sept. 11, 2008
Hernando County is located on the West Coast of Florida due west of Orlando and is at the southernmost end of Florida's Nature Coast. The Weeki Wachee River is pretty much in the center of the north-south axis and is world famous because of the Mermaid attraction & water park which opened after WWII. The Weeki Wachee river begins at the spring at the junction of US 19 and State Rt. 50 and enters the Gulf of Mexico at Bayport approximately 8 miles downstream. The Weeki Wachee spring derives it's water from the Green swamp in central Florida somewhat north of the Tampa area. The river is 95% spring fed and does not rely from runoff as many rivers do. Obviously there is local runoff from the area west of US 19 so during periods of heavy rain the water may be tea colored, but most of the time the river is crystal clear, especially in it's upper stretches. A major factor of water clarity depends on the human usage which is increasing,especially on summer weekends.
We do not have the beaches so often associated with a persons vision of Florida, but rather saltwater marsh which is nursery area for many types of fishes and birds. Development in the area was minimal until the late 1960's but has been accelerating ever since.
Chuck Morton, President,
Tom Canariato, Vice President
Paula Secretary
Ann Roberts, Treasurer
New rules pertaning to reef fish, that means anything on a rockpile, go into effect on June 1, 2008. Basically you are required to have on board a dehooker and venting tool and only use NON stainless circle hooks with natural bait.
Go to New FWC Rules to get the official information.
To relieve this condition there is a process called venting where the swimbladder is pierced with a hollow needle which lets the air out. Then the fish can swim away back to his habitat to live. For more information on this please to go: www.flseagrant.org/program_areas/fisheries/venting/index.htm
Venting Tools and dehookers can be purchased from Aquatic Release Conservation at http://www.dehooker4arc.com/
We 've been invaded, actually wild hogs have been around since the Spaniards came in the 1500's, but seldom are seen in Weeki Wachee. This boar was hit just east of Weeki Wachee Estates on April 21, 2007. A larger boar has been spotted another mile or so west toward Bayport. |
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One only needs to look at the water level in Joe and Mary's sink near the power line just west of Oak Hill Hospital on the north side of Rt. 50 to see the level of the aquifer. The lower it is the less the pressure feeding the springs and the lower the flow of the Weeki Wachee River.
If the level gets low enough it is possible for saltwater intrusion back onto the aquifer effetely polluting the water supply.
As of May 5 2008 the flow of the Weeki Wachee Spring was 125 CFS (Cubic Feet per Second) or 82,337,538 gallons per day. The average flow is 113 million gallons per day so it's easy to see why the river is shallow right now. That's only 73% of Average flow.
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Water levels in Joe & Mary's sink near Oak HillFeb 20, 2006 on leftMay 8, 2007 on right |
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The scary thing about this is that it only took 15 months to go from high water level with water on our lakes to this almost record low level where our lakes are drying up if not dry already. We have to realize that Hernando county is at or very near its sustainable population with respect to available water. Sure there is more water down there, but it is not being sustained by the recharge rate.
Water in the aquifer is like money in a savings account. If you continually take out more that gets put in - you’re broke. When the aquifer gets “broke” we will have saltwater intrusion and that my friends is not readily reversible. Hernando County Government MUST put a limit on the number of new lots they allow to be developed each year. Monroe County (Fl Keys) did it with a strict 4 per year. We don’t need to be quite that drastic, but we do need to get a handle on the situation before we become a desert..
If we do nothing then we won’t just be limiting our grass watering to once a week, we will only have water available to our homes every other day (or even less often in the dry spells).
Pine Straw makes just as good a mulch and it is renewable since the trees shed them all the time.
Home Depot, Lowes and Wal Mart are the main retailers of Cypress Mulch. Take time to write them or put a suggestion in their suggestion box for them to STOP selling it.
We cooperatively built and maintained a nature trail in the Weeki Wachee Preserve, but it is sad to say that vandals have temporarily won out. They have repeatedly destroyed the observation stations and markers to the extent that it is not practical to maintain them. We have not given up, but are looking at more non destructable items.
All of this would not be possible without a giant community fundraiser known as SWAMPFEST which is held the first weekend in March at Linda Pederson Park on Shoal Line Blvd. at Jenkins Creek. All money from SWAMPFEST goes to support HELP, the Weeki Wachee Crinmewatch and the Weeki Wachee Area Club where we meet. For more information, that website is www.wwswampfest.com
The 2008 SWAMPFEST was a great event
See you at the next one!
March 7 & 8, 2009
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Look at the crystal clear water of the Weeki Wachee headspringManatees like to rub on things like the swimrope Manatee photos courtesy of John Athanason, Weeki Wachee Springs Waterpark |
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