Apopka Blue Springs

[WEPIV]

Has anyone dove Apopka Blue Spring/Sink (aka Gordneck Sink) recently? I have heard about this site for years but have never been to it. Now it turns out that I'll be working near by (at a house on the lake shore) for a week and I thought I might take a look.... Can I swim out to the site or will a boat be needed?

[FW]

You had me worried

Apopka Blue spring is on city property, and is closed to diving. I am pretty sure the one in the lake is ok to dive, but I don't know about conditions.

[WEPIV]

Yes, the one I'm talking about is on the lake but I called it a spring because as I understand it there is water coming out.... And the house where we'll be is a few hundred feet (I believe) from the spring on the lake. (We're shooting part of a movie there.)

[Gary]

I think it's the spring that is in the lake - and the sink is the one fenced off on city property.


I never found the one on the lake. I'm thinking you'll want to bring a boat especially if you aren't sure exactly where the entrance is.

[curtschu]

You will need a shallow draft boat to get to the spring. If you are able to launch at Bella Collina directly into the Gorde Neck then you might be able to use a bigger boat. My buddy tried to cross the lake in his little fishing boat and the lake is so shallow due to the drought he was dragging the bottom and could never run. If you have access Via Bella Colina please PM me. I lived in Winter Garden for years and know a couple of guys that dove there. The last time I talked to the SJRWM guy about diving he said the water was safe to touch but don't drink it. There is some pesticide comtamination left from the spill years ago.

Curt

[curtschu]

The SJRWMD guy also said that there was a raft of cattails over the spring and this made finding the boil really hard but maybe that is gone now.
The water is GREEN/BLACK until you are in the spring kinda like Crooker Hole. And there is lots of debris and fishhooks around the opening.

C

[metaldector]

Of CurtSchu, Who couldn't find it. We spent several hours searching Gorde Neck without any luck. Like a the other Florida springs the flow has to be way down as there wasn't any slick on the surface. The mud and muck is only about 12" under the water surface. My boat engine was sucking the mud thru the water pump (not good). Also, lots of gators swimming to and fro in that area. If you find it let me know please, it's on my list of dives to do. I think we are going to need a lot of rain to raise the lake level and get that spring pumping again before its divable.

[akcaver]

Try it in a canoe, you'd be suprised at the distance you can cover with two full sets of gear in a canoe! (even though i have no idea where the spring is, having never been there myself)

[SRQ]

This has always been on my dive to-do list also. I used to fish that area many years ago. Its a shame to see this lake degrade so much.
I found this site which might be helpful to you. http://sjr.state.fl.us/programs/plan...ke/apopka.html
Then try using the GPS locator on google earth. If you look close you can even see the gators grinning at ya' . If I remember correctly the depth was around 14 to 18 feet right outside the vent and the bowl was maybe about 25 or 30 feet in diameter. (With a southwest wind for a few days that area used to get real clear and you could see the cave opening)

Let me know if you ever dive it or if you're looking for someone to dive it with. It was always a fascination for me, with or with out the gators.

WB

[Daedalus]

Age of Discharge Water

The age of water discharging from Apopka Spring was determined by measuring the concentration of tritium, helium-3, helium-4, and neon in the spring discharge in August 1999. Apopka Spring had a tritium concentration of 2.9 tritium units, which suggests that the water is less than 46 years old. The tritium and helium-3 age of water discharging from Apopka Spring was 24.5 years.

What does this mean, that the water coming out of Apopka Spring today is rainwater that fell 25 years ago?