The 2001 Florida Legislature funded the first phase of the Florida Springs Initiative to study and preserve the quality of Florida’s springs. Administration of funds was assigned to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). FDEP contracted with the Northwest Florida Water Management District to monitor first-magnitude springs within the District, delineate springsheds and perform other research pertinent to springs as part of the program. When the 2003 Florida Legislature continued funding for a third year, FDEP requested proposals for additional work. Spring inventories are a vital component of efforts to protect springs. District staff proposed and the FDEP agreed to fund an inventory along Econfina Creek in Washington and Bay counties.

Recreational information (Follman, www.tfn.net/springs) indicated to the District that there were a number of springs in the floodplain and surface water drainage basin not reported in the Florida Bureau of Geology Bulletin 31 “Springs of Florida” (revised 1977). Hence, the District proposed conducting an inventory of springs in the Econfina Creek Basin in Washington and Bay counties, Florida. This type of project is integral to understanding and protecting springs. The project was performed under FDEP Contract WM232. Specifically, the scope of work included visiting each site to collect photos and differential GPS location information as well as performing discharge measurements for springs that appear to be second magnitude. This report is the task deliverable.