Springs groups unite to strengthen their voice

Published: Saturday, January 10, 2015 at 7:25 p.m. Last Modified: Saturday, January 10, 2015 at 7:25 p.m.

Several springs protection advocacy groups have joined forces in the hopes they will accomplish more together than separately.

In December, representatives of nine groups, including four from North Central Florida, established the Florida Springs Council.

Together, they plan to advocate for comprehensive springs protection legislation during the upcoming legislative session in Tallahassee, and potentially mount legal challenges against groundwater pumping permits, water supply plans and minimum flows and levels that they feel harm or do not do enough to protect the states springs and the aquifer.

They also plan to launch an education campaign to distribute technical data on the springs and aquifer.

The idea is to bring all these groups together to speak with a unified voice on springs protection, to educate and advocate on springs issues said Bob Knight, with the Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute, the Silver Springs Alliance and the newly formed coalitions executive committee.

Other member groups from this area include the Ichetucknee Alliance and Our Santa Fe River Inc. From other parts of the state, the Save the Manatee Club, Wakulla Springs Alliance, Kings Bay Springs Alliance, Friends of Warm Mineral Springs and Withlacoochee Aquatic Restoration Inc. were also organizing members.

The basic idea of this is to approach these issues more holistically, said Bob Palmer, with the Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute, the Ichetucknee Alliance and the newly formed coalition.

Knight said he expects the councils membership to continue to expand.

With committee meetings in Tallahassee underway in advance of the upcoming session, advocating for a springs bill will be an early priority for the group. In 2014, state Sen. David Simmons R-Altamonte Springs, introduced a bill that unanimously passed the Environmental Preservation and Conservation Committee chaired by state Sen. Charlie Dean R- Inverness. That bill then went through numerous amendments that removed or loosened some specific requirements and timelines for setting minimum, flows and levels and recovery plans for water bodies that were below historic flows as well as the basin management action plans for cleaning up impaired water bodies and watersheds.

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Springs groups unite to strengthen their voice