What is the Blue Water Audit?
What is the Blue Water Audit?
The Floridan Aquifer is the principal source of water for natural and human systems throughout much of Florida. It feeds over 1,000 springs, one of the largest concentrations of springs in the world.
An estimated 21 million people live in Florida and over 100 million people visit each year.
have an impact on the Floridan Aquifer.
The Blue Water Audit estimates and visualizes those impacts.
Although human activities have a multitude of effects on the aquifer, elevated nitrate-nitrogen levels and reduced spring flows are the most widespread issues. Sources of nitrate-nitrogen pollution include fertilizer application (agricultural and residential/commercial), human wastewater, and livestock waste.
To better understand the impact of human activities on the Floridan Aquifer, and to help others understand them, the Florida Springs Institute has developed the Blue Water Audit.
Using existing data from a variety of sources, the Blue Water Audit estimates nitrogen loading and groundwater withdrawals for the Florida Springs Region. These estimates are used to assign Aquifer Footprints – a Floridan Aquifer Nitrogen Footprint (water quality) and a Floridan Aquifer Groundwater Footprint (water quantity).
Blue Water Audit
Project Area
The Blue Water Audit Analysis
The structure of the Blue Water Audit analysis is broken into 3 units:
- Unit 1: individual parcels that are 5 acres and larger (outside of city limits)
- Unit 2: generalized land use where the parcel size is less than 5 acres (outside of city limits)
- Unit 3: cities (cities are treated as single entities)
The Blue Water Audit has two main focus areas – nitrogen loading and groundwater withdrawals – that are made up of different categories.
Existing data were gathered and analyzed using a custom methodology that was based primarily on the Nitrogen Source Inventory and Loading Tool (NSILT) methods developed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. As a result, each unit was assigned:
- an overall Floridan Aquifer Nitrogen Footprint. This Footprint summarizes the estimated impact the unit is having on the Floridan Aquifer’s water quality.
- an overall Floridan Aquifer Groundwater Footprint. This Footprint summarizes the estimated impact the unit is having on the Floridan Aquifer’s water quantity.
The Blue Water Audit analysis units were created using data from the following sources:
- Parcel boundaries and tax data from the Florida Department of Revenue
- Statewide Land Use Land Cover data from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection
- County boundaries and associated data from the 2010 U.S. Census
- City boundaries and associated data from the 2010 U.S. Census
Nitrogen Loading Estimates
Overview
Blue Water Audit nitrogen loading estimate categories:
Nitrogen loading estimates were created using data from the following sources:
- Total Atmospheric Deposition Map from the National Atmospheric Deposition Program
- Agricultural Lands Geodatabase, part of the Florida Statewide Agricultural Irrigation Demand Geodatabase, from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
- Nitrogen Source Inventory and Loading Tool from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection
- Statewide Land Use Land Cover data from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection
- Nitrogen Source Inventory and Loading Tool from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection
- Statewide Land Use Land Cover
- Nitrogen Source Inventory and Loading Tool from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection
- The Florida Water Management Inventory Project from the Florida Department of Health
- Nitrogen Source Inventory and Loading Tool from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection
- The Census of Agriculture from the Florida Department of Agriculture
- Nitrogen Source Inventory and Loading Tool from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection
- Recharge Map from the United States Geological Survey
- Recharge Map from the Suwannee River Water Management District
- Recharge Map from the St. Johns River Water Management District
Floridan Aquifer Nitrogen Footprint Categories:
Groundwater Withdrawal Estimates Overview
Groundwater withdrawal estimate categories:
Groundwater withdrawal estimates were created using data from the following sources:
- Water Withdrawals, Use, and Trends in Florida 2010 from the United States Geological Survey
- Irrigated Lands Geodatabase, part of the Florida Statewide Agricultural Irrigation Demand Geodatabase, from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
- Reported water use records from Florida Water Management Districts (Suwannee River, St. Johns River, Southwest Florida, and South Florida)
- Consumptive use permit data from Florida Water Management Districts (Northwest Florida, Suwannee River, St. Johns River, Southwest Florida, and South Florida)
- Reported water use records from Florida Water Management Districts (Suwannee River, St. Johns River, Southwest Florida, and South Florida)
- Consumptive use permit data from Florida Water Management Districts (Northwest Florida, Suwannee River, St. Johns River, Southwest Florida, and South Florida)
- Water Withdrawals, Use, and Trends in Florida 2010 from the United States Geological Survey
- Reported water use records from Florida Water Management Districts (Suwannee River, St. Johns River, Southwest Florida, and South Florida)
- Consumptive use permit data from Florida Water Management Districts (Northwest Florida, Suwannee River, St. Johns River, Southwest Florida, and South Florida)
- Water Withdrawals, Use, and Trends in Florida 2010 from the United States Geological Survey
Floridan Aquifer Groundwater Footprint Categories:
Blue Water Audit Analysis Results
The Blue Water Audit analysis results form a detailed, comprehensive geodatabase, a detailed tabular database, and a summary tabular database. Due to the project area’s large size, and to maximize the map’s performance, the results have been generalized for display on the interactive map. See below for an example.
These images are an example of the detailed and generalized Blue Water Audit results.
The detailed geodatabase and tabular databases will be used by the Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute to help direct and prioritize our conservation efforts.
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DISCLAIMER: THE BLUE WATER AUDIT ESTIMATES NITROGEN LOADING AND GROUNDWATER WITHDRAWALS IN THE FLORIDA SPRINGS REGION. THE FOLLOWING SOURCES WERE UTILIZED TO PERFORM THE BLUE WATER AUDIT: COUNTY BOUNDARIES FROM THE U.S. CENSUS, PARCEL BOUNDARIES FROM THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, CITY LIMIT BOUNDARIES FROM THE U.S. CENSUS, STATEWIDE LAND USE AND LAND COVER FROM THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (FDEP), FLORIDA STATEWIDE AGRICULTURAL IRRIGATED LANDS DATABASE (FSAID) AGRICULTURAL LANDS GEODATABASE FROM THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER SERVICES (FDACS), FSAID IRRIGATED LANDS GEODATABASE FROM FDACS, TOTAL ATMOSPHERIC DEPOSITION DATA FROM THE NATIONAL ATMOSPHERIC DEPOSITION PROGRAM, THE NITROGEN SOURCE AND INVENTORY LOADING TOOL FROM FDEP, RECHARGE MAPS FROM THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY (USGS) AND VARIOUS FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICTS (WMDS), THE CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, THE FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT INVENTORY FROM THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, WATER USE RECORDS FROM VARIOUS WMDS, CONSUMPTIVE USE PERMITS FROM ALL WMDS, AND ESTIMATES FROM ‘WATER WITHDRAWALS, USE, AND TRENDS IN FLORIDA 2010’ BY THE USGS. THE BLUE WATER AUDIT ANALYSIS WAS PERFORMED BY THE HOWARD T. ODUM FLORIDA SPRINGS INSTITUTE AND ALL INFORMATION AND ESTIMATES CONTAINED HEREIN ARE CORRECT AND ACCURATE WITHIN THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE. THE FLORIDA SPRINGS INSTITUTE DOES NOT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS CONTAINED WITHIN THE SOURCE DOCUMENTS, WHICH ARE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR(S).
