The river will rise, and the high water crest moves along the river like a wave rather than being up everywhere all at once. The drama begins when the tributaries empty into the Santa Fe. In the upper Santa Fe, the New River, which receives waters from the North Fork of Black Creek, crashes into the Santa Fe at Worthington Springs, backing up and causing floods around Worthington Springs and in Graham.
Olustee Creek then pours out into the engourged Santa Fe, doubled in volume from the New River. All of this water will race through the high banks canyon of the upper Santa Fe River, racing to O’Leno and to the O’Leno sink.
I like to watch water crests move through the gauges on the SRWMD Realtime gauge levels. The upper Santa Fe River has six gauges beginning at Alligator Creek in Starke.
The lower Santa Fe, where all the popular springs reside, has seven gauges from River Rise to US 129 bridge near the Suwannee. A great deal of flooding tends to occur where the Ichetucknee spring run empties into the Santa Fe. There the water can get backed up from flowing down. Finally, the Santa Fe empties into the Suwannee River and heavy rains in the Suwannee River basin will often cause the Santa Fe River to back-up preventing the Santa Fe from draining. The Ichetucknee too is effected by the high Suwannee River waters, sometimes preventing the lower Santa fe and Ichetucknee from draining for months, as was the case this spring.
There are plenty of great resources for tracking river levels. NWPS and the USGS provide good visual representations. What are some of your favorite sites for following the floodwaters?
What are some of your most memorable floods?
OSFR President Joanne Tremblay
joanne.tremblay@oursantaferiver.org
“Giving Our River A Voice”
