By William McQuilkin
On a recent boat trip on the Silver River to Silver Springs, I was again reminded of a fast-vanishing, old and more timeless Florida. One of powerful swirling, crystal-clear springs and of slow-rolling rivers against a backdrop of tall cypress trees and moss-draped live-oak trees — there really is no place like it in the world.
Unfortunately, however, our rivers and springs are under severe stresses and many are in decline. We can and must do more to protect our rivers and springs.
Dr. Robert Knight, renowned springs scientist and founder of the Florida Springs Institute, cites excessive groundwater pumping and nitrogen pollution as the two biggest stresses to Florida springs. Silver Springs (a national treasure and still among the most visited tourist attractions in Florida) has seen significant declines in its flow rates.
This combined with nitrogen pollution and the upriver damming of the Ocklawaha River has adversely affected whole ecosystems.
I saw these effects firsthand on my most recent visit to Silver Springs. Underwater meadows of tapegrass — along with the white sand and shell bottom — were now overgrown with a flowing filamentous algae, a sad gauzy darkness replacing what once was the clear, reflected light of transparent waters.
In terms of our rivers, it is way past time to breach the dam and restore the Ocklawaha River. This would reconnect Silver Springs and its river to the Ocklawaha and St. Johns rivers all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. Rivers are about connectivity and the dam has upset the natural ecological balance both upstream and downstream of the dam.
The dam smothers 20 freshwater springs, the “lost springs” that would flow again if it were removed. It also blocks migratory species that run upriver, including the threatened Florida manatee that heads for warmer waters during the winter months, seeking the constant water temperatures that the springs provide.
The dam was constructed as part of the ill-conceived Cross-Florida Barge Canal in the late 1960s. In the intervening half-century, the ecological health of the impounded Ocklawaha River has worsened, but it has also adversely affected the St. Johns and Silver rivers.
I have previously written about the good business case for breaching the Rodman dam. But this article is not about making the business case. It is instead asking us to take stock of the natural and cultural heritage that has been given to us all. We must make some necessary course corrections if we are to preserve some small part of it.
Marjorie Harris Carr, the courageous woman who led the effort to halt the Cross Florida Barge Canal, spoke about the need to keep samples of our original Florida landscapes intact.
There are stretches of the Ocklawaha River that still look much like it did in Victorian times. There was a time when intrepid travelers aboard small paddle-wheel steamboats set sail from Palatka on the St. Johns River and rode the Ocklawaha River all the way to Silver Springs. Remove the dam and some enterprising man or woman will recreate this exotic river cruise.
Silver Springs is also a part of our cultural heritage. On one trip I was fortunate to be in the company of those who had spent a lifetime exploring, researching and protecting Silver River and Springs.
They pointed out places where mammoth and mastodon fossils had been recovered, as well as the historic location of Paradise Park, an attraction created in the time of segregation on the Silver River that catered to Black people. They are familiar with both the physical and cultural geography, connoting a true sense of place. These are the kind of places we need to restore and preserve.
Silver Springs and the Ocklawaha River can recover their lost beauty if we remove the dam, let the rivers flow and reduce groundwater extraction and pollution. Let’s breach the Rodman dam and support the many organizations working on Florida’s springs restoration. This is a part of Florida’s unique natural heritage, which we borrow from our children and grandchildren.
Let the rivers run; let the springs flow.
William McQuilkin is a retired U.S. Navy rear admiral and outdoor enthusiast. He lives in Ponte Vedra Beach. This opinion piece was originally published by the Florida Times-Union, which is a media partner of The Invading Sea. Banner image: A glass-bottom boat can be seen in the distance at Silver Springs State Park (P. Hughes, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons).
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How do you propose to restructure land ownership for the areas that would be re-flooded and the land returned to dry use?
People often have a hard time imagining where the water goes, how fast it goes,how much water and what flooding situations would or would not occur so you have to remember that a drawdown of water levels can be conducted as slow or as fast as officials want it to be released. The land that was underwater would grow back as forest and is already a state park and the other “dry” side would finally get some more water that would be absorbed through the forested landscape (wetland). State officials are causing downstream flooding by letting water gush out, imagine that. Maybe the town of Welaka should sue the Army Corps of Engineers.
Thank you Bill for continuing to raise awareness about how important is to remove the expired dam and revert back to an un-obstructed river that flows from springs out to sea.
Some years ago a group of friends and I canoed from headwaters to dam: still a highlight of my long life.
Free her
How can I help?