Interesting Jackson Blue Fact

[GLENFWB]

I am bored today with all this rain. I read on this site http://www.tfn.net/springs/index.html the following statement about the water coming out of Jackson Blue on the Mill Pond:

"It is estimated that water flowing out of the main vent has flowed underground for approximately 17 years, meaning that efforts to reduce nitrate intrusions in the springshead will not have any impact for 17 years."

I am wondering if any of the researchers on this forum can tell me how accurate this statement is?

[rotor60driver]

I am not a researcher, but if this were the case then would the system be so readily affected by heavy rains as soon as they occur? It will be interesting to hear from some of those with the knowledge to answer this question.

[GLENFWB]

I made the same comment to someone when we were discussing this. But, my guess would be that certainly there is run off from rain that affects the flow. But, there is a constant flow even during times of drought...I would imagine it would have to be this water flow that they are talking about.

I am not a researcher, but if this were the case then would the system be so readily affected by heavy rains as soon as they occur? It will be interesting to hear from some of those with the knowledge to answer this question.

[jason]

Spring water "ages" can be a bit misleading... They are basically the average age of water that discharges at the spring when the water was sampled. Basically, there are places in the aquifer where water flows fast (fractures, caves) and places where water flow slow (pore spaces in the rock). The water that comes out of a spring is a mixture of both and the "age" that is calculated is a combination of those fast and slow flow paths. I should also point out that there is very little evidence that nitrate is causing the algal blooms in the springs. Nitrate has been correlated with algal blooms, but there are a lot of other things that correlate with algal blooms as well. A lot of recent research is suggesting that something else is the problem...

[HeloDriver]

And what would that something else be... ?

[jason]

There are lots of things, but one of the more obvious ones would be the loss of organisms that eat algae.... Recent research on nutrient dynamics at Ichetucknee Springs suggests that river isn't nitrate limited (which means you can add nitrate and not really affect the amount of algae). Nitrate is an easy target to point fingers at because its something that humans introduce to the water - but it doesn't actually mean that its causing the problem.