Water

Creates cooler, clearer, free-flowing Ocklawaha, and St. Johns Rivers.

Many of Florida’s most significant water resources are found in central and north Florida. A notable system is The Great Florida Riverway, a vast 217-mile system, reaching from the Green Swamp and Lake Apopka in Central Florida to the Atlantic Ocean. The system contains 1) 50 plus springs including one of the largest artesian springs in the world (20 springs are currently submerged by the waters of the Rodman/Kirkpatrick Dam), 2) three rivers – the Ocklawaha, Silver and St. Johns, and 3) the 100-mile St. Johns River Estuary and 3) portions of the Floridan aquifer system which feeds Silver Springs providing 66% of the flow of the Ocklawaha River. Breaching the Rodman/Kirkpatrick Dam and creating a free-flowing Ocklawaha River will have far-reaching statewide water quality and water quantity benefits.

Hear What Scientists are Saying

Improving Three Rivers, 50 plus springs and the Atlantic Fishery - Ed Lowe, PhD, Former Chief Scientist at SJRWMD

Strengthening St. Johns River Resiliency - Quinton White, PhD, Director of Marine Science Research Institute, Jacksonville University

Silver Springs Health Depends on a Free-Flowing River - Robert Knight, PhD, Executive Director, Florida Springs Institute

Completing the Last Big Restoration Project in the St. Johns River Basin - Casey Fitzgerald, Former Assistant Director Water Resources Dept., SJRWMD

20 Springs and 150+mgd of Natural Flow Restored - Jim Gross, Hydrogeologist and Executive Director, Florida Defenders of the Environment

Complete Science Overview – See the nine-minute science segment from our new documentary – The Great Florida Riverway.