This is the introduction of the series “Messages From The Springs Heartland.” See this article at this link in the Gainesville Sun.
Messages from the Springs Heartland’ meant to inspire action to save our springs
North Central Florida residents disagree on many issues, but springs are one subject that tends to bring us together.
Most residents recognize how special natural springs are to our region. When visitors come here seeking an experience different from the Florida usually depicted in tourism brochures, a favorite choice is tubing down the Ichetucknee River or enjoying one of the many other springs in the area.
But longtime residents will note that these springs lack the same crystal-clear waters they had in past decades. Algae growth and declining flows threaten the beauty of these natural wonders, while also showing problems with the aquifer that flows through springs and supplies our drinking water.
Eight years ago, The Sun explored these problems in a series of news stories called Fragile Springs. These stories showed that springs were in serious trouble because too much water was being pumped from the aquifer, while that same groundwater was being polluted by farms, septic tanks and other sources.
I moderated a Fragile Springs forum at Santa Fe College that further explored these issues with key officials and environmental experts. The event drew a standing-room-only crowd of residents eager to learn more and find out what they could do to help.
Starting last weekend, The Sun has returned to these issues in a new ongoing series called Fragile Springs Revisited. Several of the same voices that cautioned us eight years ago about the condition of our springs are now warning us that these problems have in some cases only worsened.
We must do better. We need to galvanize voters to pressure our political leaders to do more to save our springs, or vote them out and elect leaders who will. At the same time we all have to take responsibility for own actions that deplete and pollute springs.
We will be exploring these kinds of issues in greater depth in the months ahead. We want to hear from you as well. Email your thoughts on springs in a letter to the editor of 200 words or less to letters@gainesville.com, or email that same address to propose an idea for a longer guest column.
We hope that these “Messages from the Springs Heartland” will inspire North Central Florida residents to do more to save our springs. We can’t let them be in the same sorry condition eight years from now, or get even worse.
Nathan Crabbe is The Sun’s opinion and engagement editor. Follow him at twitter.com/nathancrabbe and www.facebook.com/nathancrabbe.
Join the conversation
Send a letter to the editor (up to 200 words) to letters@gainesville.com. Letters must include the writer’s full name and city of residence. Additional guidelines for submitting letters and longer guest columns can be found at bit.ly/sunopinionguidelines.
