This website is intended to share my observation and data on a large and deep second-magnitude Florida freshwater spring, The spring is two acres on the surface and a hundred and seventy feet deep in a half-acre cavity. It is in our front yard. It is now owned by the US Navy and is not accessible to the public. I have observed it since 1940.
When we came to live here. I was eight years old. I earned a Ph.D. in biology and
returned to live here in 1975 and resumed my observations of the spring, as a scientist.
In 1990 I volunteered to collect monthly water samples for the UF’s LAKEWATCH
program and have recorded 34+ years of data. That data includes Secchi disk readings, total nitrogen, phosphorus, and chlorophyll a. The samples were obtained from two stations at the surface, and for several years samples were taken from the input vent at a depth of 165 ft. The stage [NGVD29], discharge [cfs], and rainfall were also determined.
The geology, bathymetry and recharge are examined. Photographs and videos taken by divers and ROVs are presented. I hope that this information will be useful to anyone, who wants to use it.
Joseph M. Branham