Middle St. Johns - Florida Department of Environmental Protection

74 Water Quality Assessment Report: Middle St. Johns
description of each planning unit, information on land use and potential
point sources of pollution, water quality assessments for individual waterbody
segments, and summaries of ecological issues and watershed quality
improvement plans and projects.
Appendix F of this report provides the integrated assessment
summary, a list of water quality monitoring stations, and trend data.
Appendix G includes summary information, by planning unit, for permitted
wastewater treatment facilities, Superfund sites, and permitted landfill
facilities in the basin. Appendix H lists Level I land uses by planning unit.
Appendix I contains maps showing integration by parameter group for the
Middle St. Johns Basin as a whole.
Information on
Point Sources
in Planning
Units
Point sources discharging
pollutants to surface water
or ground water originate
from discrete, well-defined
areas such as a facility
discharge from the end of
a pipe, a disposal well, or a
wastewater sprayfield. Point
sources generally fall into
two major types: domestic
wastewater sources (which
consist of sewage from
homes, businesses, and
institutions) and industrial
wastewater sources (which
include wastewater, runoff,
and leachate from industrial
or commercial storage,
handling, or processing
facilities). Landfills, hazardous
waste sites, dry cleaning
solvent cleanup program
(DSCP) sites, and petroleum
facility discharges are also
considered point sources.
These sites have the potential
to leach contaminants into
ground water and surface
water.
Identifying the source of
waterbody impairment is an
important part of assessing
water quality and developing
TMDLs. As part of this
report, information is presented
on point sources,
including permitted facilities
that discharge wastewater
and landfills.
Assessment by Planning Unit
• Alexander Springs Creek Planning Unit
General Description
The Alexander Springs Creek planning unit, in the Ocala National
Forest, covers about 63,953 acres (100 square miles) and lies within portions
of Lake and Marion Counties. Alexander Springs, for which the
planning unit is named, is a first-magnitude spring discharging 94.2 cubic
feet per second as of September 2001 (Scott et al., 2002). Alexander
Springs Creek flows east for approximately 8 miles until it meets the
St. Johns River just south of Lake Dexter (Scott et al., 2002). Other major
waterbodies include Buck Lake (for which the Buck Lake Wildlife Area is
named), Akron Lake, and Sellers Lake.
Water Quality Summary
Figure 3.3, a composite map of the planning unit, shows waters on
the 1998 303(d) list, the Planning List and Verified List, and potential
pollution sources. There are 23 water quality monitoring stations used for
analysis (Appendix F). Table 3.5 summarizes the water quality assessment
status of all waterbody segments in the planning unit.
Of the 16 waterbody segments in the Alexander Springs Creek planning
unit, 9 have at least some type of data in the planning and/or verification
periods, but in many cases, the data are insufficient for assessment of
segments under the IWR. Five segments have sufficient data for assessment,
and of these, none are verified impaired for at least 1 parameter
assessed, 1 remains on the Planning List as only potentially impaired, and
4 meet standards for all parameters assessed.
Buck Lake, the site of a national forest campground, is potentially
impaired for fecal and total coliform bacteria and remains on the
Planning List.
Permitted Discharges and Land Uses
Point Sources. There are four permitted point source discharges in
the Alexander Springs Creek planning unit (see sidebar for a definition of
point sources). All of these are domestic wastewater facilities permitted