When its hot and there’s been no rain in months, our need for water increases. We all need water; the deer, squirrels, and humans alike. Washing cars and watering lawns can wait because we all drink from the same pond, there are so many more of us and only one puddle, under our feet.
Guy Bryant, a very skilled photographer and diver took this image from a ‘chimney’ on a fellow diver’s property. These divers have seen first hand how all our water connects as it courses through an elaborate cave system. Watch ‘Water’s Journey: Hidden Rivers of Florida‘ for a deeper understanding of this precious resource, produced by Wes Skiles and other local diver-explorers. Since it’s production a decade ago, we have adopted more stringent water protections to accommodate a growing population with a fixation for non-native landscaping.
Our aquifer has been studied by many and through observation and research, it is understood that our fresh water source is surrounded by salt water. Salt water sinks below it and exists on both sides of our peninsula. When we use more water than can be recharged, the salt water moves in. Did you know that less than 10% of rainfall is able to percolate down through the sand and limestone to recharge our aquifer?
There was a discussion this week on social media about a post from Alachua County on irrigation schedules. Commenters seemed very angry, confused and defensive thinking they have every right to recreate a northern European landscape on top of a dry and, sandy crust that encapsulates our water. Whether you drink from the tap, a well, or a plastic container, our water comes from the same puddle. We can learn, adapt, and become more compatible with our environment. Plan today to replace lawns this winter with cheaper and more attractive native landscaping; plants that are adapted to our heat and drought cycles.
The rains are scheduled to come in a few days, but I have seen these forecasts fizzle and dissipate. We can go MONTHS without rain and our river has and will shrink down to nothing, springs become siphons, reversing their flow. Let us be mindful of our friends and family and conserve our puddle; its the only one we have.
OSFR President Joanne Tremblay
joanne.tremblay@oursantaferiver.org
“Giving Our River A Voice”
Stop fertilizing lawns.