The Southwest Florida Water Management District is inviting the media to tour the District’s restoration efforts at Weeki Wachee Springs on Monday, November 3 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
The project will improve water quality in the head spring and the upper river, as well as enhance the overall natural system. Project components include the removal of sediments, Lyngbya algae and other exotic vegetation as well as the revegetation of native plant species. The project area stretches from the spring vent to the vicinity of the Weeki Wachee Springs attraction’s boat dock.
To date, Weeki Wachee Springs contains approximately 6,130 cubic yards of accumulated sediments. This equals enough material to fill more than 600 dump trucks. All removed sediments will be piped underneath County Road 550 and beneficially re-used as fill on District property located across the street from the attraction.
Lyngbya is an invasive algae that grows and spreads rapidly. It attaches itself to plants and the bottoms of water bodies, forming large mats. These mats grow and then break off, spreading to other areas. Lyngbya crowds out native vegetation and disrupts the natural filtration process as well as decreases the amount of native habitat for fish nurseries. The removal of Lyngbya at Weeki Wachee Springs and subsequent monitoring will provide District staff with important data on the rate at which this invasive species re-grows. Staff will use this data to aid in upcoming restoration efforts at Chassahowitzka Springs.
This is the second project the District is conducting at Weeki Wachee Springs. Earlier this year, the District completed a stormwater project to capture and treat stormwater runoff from U.S. Highway 19 and the Weeki Wachee Springs attraction parking lot. Stormwater runoff had previously flowed untreated into the head spring.
Both projects are part of the District’s Springs Protection Initiative. There are more than 100 springs in the District. The majority of these springs are clustered around the District’s five first-magnitude springs systems, which include Weeki Wachee, Homosassa, Chassahowitzka, Kings Bay and Rainbow River. District data indicates significant declines in water quality in these springs and environmental changes in some of the spring-run systems.
The total cost of the restoration project is $515,230, which is being funded by the State’s Water Management Lands Trust Fund through the District’s Coastal Rivers Basin Board.
All project activities are being coordinated around the Weeki Wachee Springs attraction mermaid shows.