The Devils Ear Springshed consists of more than 200,000 acres of land that contribute water to the following group of springs:
- Gilchrist Blue sub-basin springs which include Jonathan, Rum, Gilchrist Blue, Naked, and Johnson Springs.
- July Spring (Columbia) a 1st magnitude spring in Columbia County.
- Ginnie Springs Complex which include Devils Ear, Devils Eye, Little Devil, Ginnie, Dogwood, Twin, and Deer Springs.
- Sawdust Spring (Columbia) a 3rd magnitude spring in Columbia County.
Devils Ear is the only designated Outstanding Florida Spring (OFS) within the Devil’s Ear Springshed. This OFS is IMPAIRED due to high nitrates at a level which is 73% higher than what is considered safe. As a result, a Basin Management Action Plan (BMAP) has been enacted to reduce nitrate loading within this basin. (BMAPS: Draft Santa Fe River Basin Management Action Plan, April 2025.)
The Ginnie Springs Complex include Devils Ear, Eye, Little Devil, Ginnie, Dogwood, Twin, and Deer springs. These springs are all within privately run Ginnie Springs Outdoors, LLC . The Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD) has permitted up to 1 million gallons per day (mgd) to be withdrawn from wells within the Ginnie Springs complex. The water is pumped from wells near Ginnie by Seven Springs Water Co. which then sells he water to Blue Triton, formerly known as Nestle Waters North America.
The Devil’s Ear cave system has more than 10,000 feet
of underwater passages. Devil’s Eye, Devil’s Ear and July are connected and are between 70 and 110 feet deep. (Santa Fe River Field Trip.)
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
Maintain Septic tank: pump out every 10 yrs or upgradeTo learn more about this springshed, check-out the following:
Reduce water usage in home and on landscape
Minimize fertilizer use: don’t apply during rainy periods.
Blueprint For Restoring Springs On The Santa Fe River, Florida Springs Institute, 2021, https://floridaspringsinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Santa-Fe-River-and-Springs-Restoration-Blueprint-01_27_21.pdf, accessed online 5/25/25
BMAPS: Draft Santa Fe River Basin Management Action Plan, April 2025, https://floridadep.gov/sites/default/files/250410_SAFE_BMAPUpdateMeetingMaterials.pdf, accessed online 6/1/25.
MFL: Lower Santa Fe and Ichetucknee Rivers MFL Status | Suwannee River Water Management District, SRWMD, 2022, accessed May, 2025. https://www.mysuwanneeriver.com/DocumentCenter/View/18580/LSFI_Status_Assessment-2022-final?bidId=, accessed online 6/1/25.
Santa Fe River Field Trip, Alachua, Columbia, and Gilchrist Counties, Florida, June 2014, Guidebook Number 61, The Southeastern Geological Society (SEGS), Edited by: Peter Butt, Samantha Andrews, P.G., Greg Mudd, P.G. https://segs.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Microsoft_Word__Sante_Fe_SEGS_Guidebook_No_61_FINAL.pdf, accessed online 5/25/25.
Springs of Florida (FGS : Bulletin 66), USGS, 2004, https://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00094032/00001/images/493, accessed online 5/25/25
Springs 101, Howard T Odum Florida Springs Institute, 2024, https://floridasprings.org/springs-101/, accessed online 5/25/25
Springs of Florida (FGS : Bulletin 66), USGS, 2004, https://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00094032/00001/images/493, accessed online 6/1/25.
First Magnitude Springs of Florida, Thomas M. Scott, Guy H. Means,Ryan C. Means, and Rebecca P. Meegan, Florida Geological Survey, 2002, https://lake.wateratlas.usf.edu/upload/documents/FirstMagnitudeSprings-OpenFileReport85-FGS.pdf, accessed online 6/1/25.
OSFR Director, Joanne Tremblay
joanne.tremblay@oursantaferiver.org
“Giving Our River A Voice”
