Water Quality Assessment Report - Florida Department of ...

discharge into the lesser creeks fl owing into Hammock Creek. The creek’s
water is brackish nearly to the headsprings.
The Pithlachascotee River starts in Hernando County as channeled
fl ow through the Masaryktown Canal. It then fl ows southwest to its headwaters,
Crews Lake, through an area of interconnected lakes and sinkholes
in south-central Hernando County, near Brooksville. From there, it fl ows
about 25 miles through a poorly defi ned channel to the Gulf of Mexico at
Port Richey. The river includes both estuarine and freshwater reaches. As
it fl ows, substantial amounts of water drain underground to the Floridan
aquifer. The river has very low base fl ow. During low-fl ow conditions,
most of its water comes from ground water seepage. During high-fl ow
conditions, surface water runoff constitutes most of the fl ow.
The Pithlachascotee watershed contains numerous water table marshes
and lakes, including Crews Lake. These fl uctuate with ground water levels
and may disappear completely during dry spells or with heavy ground
water pumping.
The Anclote River originates in swampy lowlands in south-central
Pasco County, east of New Port Richey, and from there meanders in a
southwesterly direction, entering the Gulf of Mexico just north of Tarpon
Springs. The lower reach of the Anclote River is a tidal estuary that fl ows
into Anclote Anchorage, a shallow area of seagrass beds to the east of
Anclote Key. Tidal infl uences extend as much as 14 miles up the river.
The mean depth of the lower river is just over 3 feet, except for a dredged
shipping channel about 15 feet deep that extends from Tarpon Springs to
the river mouth. Salinity at the river mouth ranges from 0.8 to 32.7 parts
per thousand, depending on rainfall and tidal fl ows.
Springs
The Springs Coast Basin contains 4 major spring complexes, which
occur because of the region’s karst geology. A spring complex is a group
of springs, often spread out over several square miles, that are discharge
points for ground water in a discrete ground water basin. Combined, these
4 complexes discharge approximately 900 million gallons per day (mgd)
from the Floridan aquifer system. Rainfall, which is the primary recharge
mechanism for the aquifer, averages 56 inches per year.
Spring fl ow is a major discharge mechanism for the aquifer, accounting
for 64 to 84 percent of the total recharge input. The Crystal River/Kings
Bay Springs Complex, the largest such complex in the basin, discharges
approximately 630 mgd. The three other major springs—Weeki Wachee,
Chassahowitzka, and Homosassa—discharge 113, 90, and 68 mgd, respectively.
Other large springs in the basin include Ruth Spring, Salt Spring,
Little Springs, Bobhill Springs, Magnolia Springs, Horseshoe Spring,
Salt Springs, Wall Springs, Crystal Beach Springs (which is located about
1,000 feet offshore), and Tarpon Springs (which is tidally infl uenced and
can reverse fl ow).
Water Quality Assessment Report: Springs Coast
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