Florida Springs Network

The Florida springs network is the state's collection of freshwater springs, and Florida is home to more large first- and second-magnitude springs than any other state in the nation (Florida DEP).

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection calls springs the window into the health of Florida's groundwater, which is the source of 90 percent of drinking water for Floridians (Florida DEP). Some springs support entire ecosystems with unique plants and animals, and springs flow into rivers that depend on their clean, fresh water. FDEP lists swimming, kayaking and diving among spring recreation and calls springs economic drivers for Florida communities.

Fanning Springs State Park near the Suwannee River contains one of the 33 first-magnitude springs in Florida, along with Little Fanning, a second-magnitude spring (Florida State Parks, Fanning Springs). The main vent of Fanning Spring is funnel-shaped and may be over 18 feet deep, depending on river levels, and water there pumps out from the underlying Floridan aquifer.

Water within the Fanning-Manatee springshed moves through a complex matrix of underground passageways. Unlike nearby Manatee Springs, no records of cave exploration exist for Fanning, so researchers use dyes released into the water to study the flow and direction of the cave systems (Florida State Parks, Fanning Springs).

Outstanding Florida Springs are the 30 springs the Florida Legislature identified in 2016 as requiring additional protections (Florida DEP).

Section 373.802, Florida Statutes, defines an Outstanding Florida Spring as all historic first magnitude springs, including their spring runs, as determined from the most recent Florida Geological Survey springs bulletin, plus De Leon Springs, Peacock Springs, Poe Springs, Rock Springs, Wekiwa Springs and Gemini Springs (s. 373.802, F.S.). The term does not include submarine springs or river rises.

The same Florida statute sets the map units that the springs rules use. A springshed is the groundwater and surface water area that contributes to a spring's discharge, drawn from potentiometric surface maps and watershed boundaries, and a priority focus area is the part of a basin where the Floridan Aquifer is most vulnerable and connected to an Outstanding Florida Spring, delineated in a basin management action plan (s. 373.802, F.S.).

FDEP names two main threats to Florida springs: falling spring flow as aquifer levels decline, and excess nutrients, mainly nitrate, that feed algae and degrade habitat (Florida DEP).

Through its assessments, FDEP has found excess nitrogen, particularly nitrate, in 24 of the 30 Outstanding Florida Springs (Florida DEP, Protecting Florida Springs). FDEP lists the Florida nitrogen sources as wastewater, water from septic tanks, stormwater runoff and fertilizer runoff from both urban and agricultural lands.

Florida funded nearly $268 million over the last four years specifically for springs restoration, according to the FDEP springs page as accessed on October 15, 2026, alongside the state's investment in wastewater, stormwater and nonpoint source projects, water quantity projects and land acquisition in spring recharge zones (Florida DEP).

Florida restores impaired Outstanding Florida Springs through basin management action plans (BMAPs) designed with a target to achieve each spring's nutrient total maximum daily load no more than 20 years after adoption (Florida Statutes section 373.807).

Section 373.807 required FDEP to finish its Outstanding Florida Springs assessments by July 1, 2018, and requires each springs BMAP to include an implementation plan that reaches the nutrient total maximum daily load no more than 20 years after adoption, with 5-year, 10-year and 15-year targets (s. 373.807, F.S.). FDEP adopted 13 restoration plans in June 2018, covering all 24 nitrogen-impaired Outstanding Florida Springs (Florida DEP).

FDEP's own pages differ on where those plans stand. After a 1st District Court of Appeal ruling, the 2018 final orders for the Santa Fe River, Silver Springs and Upper Silver River, Rainbow Spring Group and Rainbow River, Suwannee River and Volusia Blue Spring BMAPs were reversed and remanded; the 2012 Santa Fe River Basin, 2015 Rainbow Spring Group and Rainbow River, 2015 Silver Springs and Upper Silver River and 2016 Lower and Middle Suwannee River Basin BMAPs are in effect instead, and the Volusia Blue Spring BMAP is under development (Florida DEP, Protecting Florida's Springs).

Where Florida septic systems contribute at least 20 percent of nonpoint source nitrogen pollution, or where FDEP finds remediation necessary to meet the nutrient limit, the BMAP must include a septic remediation plan (s. 373.807, F.S.). FDEP's Onsite Sewage Program says those plans require enhanced nutrient-reducing septic systems, on top of the statewide requirements in House Bill 1379, Chapter 2023-169, Laws of Florida (FDEP Onsite Sewage Program). Florida law defines such a system as one meeting at least a 50 percent total nitrogen reduction before the drainfield, or 65 percent combined (s. 373.802, F.S.).

The prohibitions above apply only within a basin management action plan in effect for an Outstanding Florida Spring (s. 373.811, F.S.). Before buying land or building in a Florida springshed, the Springs BMAP and HB 1379 requirements map linked from the FDEP Onsite Sewage Program page shows where the nitrogen-reducing septic requirements apply (FDEP Onsite Sewage Program).

Florida protects spring flow with minimum flows: when an Outstanding Florida Spring falls, or is projected within 20 years to fall, below its minimum flow, a recovery or prevention strategy is required (Florida Statutes section 373.805).

Each Florida recovery or prevention strategy must list specific projects with costs and completion dates, and district financial help may not be less than 25 percent of total project cost unless other identified sources will provide more than 75 percent, a minimum the Northwest Florida and Suwannee River water management districts are not required to meet (s. 373.805, F.S.).

The newest example took effect this year in north Florida. FDEP adopted Rules 62-42.200 and 62-42.300, F.A.C., setting minimum flows for the Lower Santa Fe and Ichetucknee Rivers and Priority Springs, effective July 1, 2026, in the North Florida Regional Water Supply Partnership Area, with an implementation strategy dated November 2025 (FDEP Office of Water Policy). The rule package includes monitoring and reporting, water conservation and offset requirements, with the offset rules tied to the St. Johns River and Suwannee River water management district permit handbooks (FDEP Office of Water Policy).

Florida State Parks opens springs such as Silver Springs and Rainbow Springs to the public from 8 a.m. to sunset, 365 days a year (Florida State Parks, Silver Springs).

Silver Springs State Park runs glass bottom boats over one of America's largest and best loved springs, and its equestrian entrance and canoe and kayak launch close 90 minutes before the park closes (Silver Springs State Park). Rainbow Springs State Park in Dunnellon protects one of Florida's first-magnitude springs, where the Rainbow River rises (Rainbow Springs State Park). Florida State Parks describes Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park, at 465 Wakulla Park Drive, as home to one of the world's largest and deepest freshwater springs, viewed from a riverboat or atop the diving platform (Florida State Parks).

Fanning Springs State Park shows why springs matter to wildlife. Manatees are regularly sighted in the Suwannee River and in the spring and spring run, especially during cold weather, because the springs are often warmer and more constant in temperature (Florida State Parks, Fanning Springs). Dredging of the Fanning Spring Run in 2011 removed accumulated sediments, partly to improve manatee access in low water, and at certain times of year visitors can see gulf sturgeon, which can reach 9 feet and 300 pounds, leaping in the river.

One Florida notice matters for planning a trip in fall 2026: effective Oct. 23, 2025, the Sea Hunt Deck at Silver Springs State Park is closed (Silver Springs State Park). Last verified: October 15, 2026, on the Florida State Parks website.