{"id":12,"date":"2019-06-03T15:55:55","date_gmt":"2019-06-03T15:55:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stories.usatodaynetwork.com\/septictankcrisis\/?page_id=12"},"modified":"2019-06-07T15:41:01","modified_gmt":"2019-06-07T15:41:01","slug":"saving-the-springs","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/stories.usatodaynetwork.com\/septictankcrisis\/saving-the-springs\/","title":{"rendered":"Saving the Springs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A bowfin swims among a forest of algae in Blue Spring. Scientists say too much nitrogen in the water flowing from the aquifer is promoting the algae growth. Photo provided by Joe Cruz, Deltona.<\/div>\n \t<\/div>\n <\/div><\/div>
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Septic tanks leak nitrogen into Florida\u2019s springs<\/h1>\n
Once pristine waters are slowly being choked by high nitrogen levels brought on by septic systems<\/div>\n

By Dinah Voyles Pulver | dinah.pulver@news-jrnl.com<\/a> | June 2, 2019<\/p><\/div>\n

IN THE SERIES: SEPTIC CRISIS<\/a> | SAVING THE SPRINGS<\/a> | DELTONA TANKS<\/a> | COASTAL CONTAMINATION<\/a> | COMPLEX AND COSTLY<\/a><\/p><\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div><\/div>

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If finding out what’s causing the demise of Florida’s springs worked like a TV crime show, a researcher could pull a cup of water from any one of Florida’s springs and within minutes pinpoint the source of contamination.<\/p>\n

But springs restoration isn’t TV science. Pinpointing the source of the troubles is “not like CSI,” said Tom Frick, director of environmental assessment and restoration for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. “We don’t have that technology yet.”<\/p>\n

Long-time Floridians mourn for the springs of their youth, with crystal clear water, abundant eel grass, fish and crustaceans swimming in the springs. Today, the springs are often clouded, plants are sparse or covered with green slimy algae, and there are fewer fish and other marine life.<\/p>\n

In 2016, the state Legislature passed the Florida Springs and Aquifer Protection Act, requiring DEP to figure out what was causing harm to Florida’s 13 “outstanding Florida springs” and come up with plans to begin reversing the damage. The three major springs in western Volusia County were on the list: Blue Spring, Gemini Springs and DeLeon Springs.<\/p>\n

The DEP knew going in that nitrogen was the biggest culprit in the decline of Florida’s springs. Even though the springs still hold stunning beauty for newcomers seeing them for the first time, nitrogen levels have been increasing for years, feeding algae blooms that coat plants and rocks in the springs with green slime, upsetting the ecosystems. The challenge now is determine sources of the nitrogen and do something about it.<\/p>\n

To develop the required basin management action plans — known as BMAPS — the department used a computer model<\/a> fed with information such as population and land use activities around the springs to pinpoint the sources of nitrogen. Within each spring basin, a smaller target area was identified as a “priority focus area,” where restoration activities will be focused.<\/p>\n

[LEARN MORE: Click here to see if your home is in a spring priority focus area]<\/a><\/p> \t<\/div>\n <\/div>

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Sunlight glows in the water at Blue Spring State Park in Orange City in this photo by springs photographer Joe Cruz. Nitrogen and other nutrient levels have been rising for years in the water at Blue Spring. New state rules are designed to try to begin restoring water quality in the spring, and will include requirements to upgrade or eliminate thousands of septic tanks over the next 20 years. [Photo provided by Joe Cruz]<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div><\/div>
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In the 108-square mile basin for Blue Spring<\/a> in Orange City, the department concluded the primary cause of the nitrogen — 54 percent — is coming from human wastewater flowing from more than 23,000 densely clustered septic tank systems in DeLand, DeBary, Deltona and Orange City.<\/p>\n

“Septic tanks were never designed for that kind of density,” said Clay Henderson, executive director of Stetson University’s Institute of Water and Environmental Resilience. “We know now for certain more than half the nutrients in Blue Spring are caused by septic tanks and it should be no surprise because of the high concentration of tanks.”<\/p>\n

Although other contaminants, such as artificial sweeteners and acetominophen, also make their way into spring water, they aren’t impacting the springs like nitrogen, Frick said. “You may see trace amounts of some of those in our springs, but we haven’t seen them at an acute or chronic level.”<\/p>\n

Less is known about the impact of pesticides and herbicides used on lawns and sprayed of aquatic weeds.<\/p>\n

At Gemini Springs in DeBary, the study blamed lawn fertilizers for 46 percent of the nitrogen<\/a> and septic tanks for 41 percent in the 27,290-acre spring basin. Within the smaller 3,096-acre priority focus area that covers much of the southern half of DeBary, 49 percent of the nitrogen comes from roughly 2,334 septic systems.<\/p>\n

In more rural DeLeon Springs, the department concluded agriculture-related uses were the biggest nitrogen contributor, with septic tanks contributing an estimated 14 percent of the nitrogen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Other nitrogen sources identified in the plans include fertilizers on golf courses and farms, storm water runoff and the disposal of sludge and wastewater.<\/p> \t<\/div>\n <\/div>

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A manatee swims in Blue Spring in Orange City. [News-Journal file\/Nigel Cook]<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div><\/div>
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Springs action plans <\/h1>\n <\/div>\n
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The basin management plans<\/a>, with their proposed projects to remove nitrogen and five-year incremental goals over the next 20 years, were adopted last summer. The plans encountered a lot of back and forth among environmental groups, local governments and industry experts, who described them as rushed and without complete information.<\/p>\n

Some still say the plans won’t do enough to clean up the springs, which flow from the aquifer that provides most of Florida’s drinking water. Five of the 13 action plans approved last year, including the one for Blue Spring, are on hold pending legal challenges.<\/p>\n

The Blue Spring plan is scheduled for administrative hearing in September. The Save the Manatee Club filed the challenge against it, arguing the plan doesn’t go far enough to remove nitrogen and protect the manatees that seek refuge in the spring from the colder St. Johns River in the winter.<\/p>\n

The dozens of projects listed in the action plans, ranging in complexity and cost, don’t all have price tags yet, but are expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars. They range from storm water improvements and wastewater treatment plant improvements to consumer education.<\/p>\n

The most complex and expensive issue will be addressing the proliferation of septic tanks, with requirements for the conversion of thousands of septic tanks to more advanced treatment technologies or to municipal sewers.<\/p>\n

Septic tank remediation plans are required under the Florida Springs and Aquifer Protection Act any time septic tanks are blamed for at least 20 percent of the pollution in a spring basin.<\/p>\n

“It’s not a matter of trying to get rid of every septic tank,” said Mike Ulrich, Volusia County’s utilities director. “The real challenge is to get rid of as few as possible and meet the standards we need to meet at the least expensive cost.”<\/p>\n

[HOW MANY SEPTIC TANKS ARE THERE?]<\/a><\/p>\n

The Blue Spring action plan sets a goal of removing 61,653 pounds of the nitrogen flowing to Blue Spring, with a reduction of 18,496 pounds in the first five years.<\/p>\n

Because the basin is so large, every local government in West Volusia will be required to do something, said Ulrich. The DEP and the water management district will also need to take action. “But just what that is or what the best projects are, still needs to be mapped out,” he said.<\/p>\n

Anticipating that new rules were coming, Volusia County began working years ago with other local utilities to improve treatment of wastewater and storm water to reduce nitrogen and other contaminants. The county revamped its large wastewater treatment plant in northern DeBary, expanding it and converting it to an advanced treatment system.<\/p>\n

[READ MORE: DeBary water treatment plant]<\/a><\/p>\n

The multi-million dollar project means the plant will have the capacity to provide sewer services for homes that will need to convert to sewer. It also is removing more nitrogen from the wastewater treated at the plant. The county has closed one smaller treatment plant and will close another, sending all the wastewater to the DeBary plant. The project is jointly funded by springs protection grants from the St. Johns River Water Management District and the DEP.<\/p>\n

Deltona also made advances to its wastewater treatment that will help remove nitrogen and other contaminants.<\/p>\n

Improved treatment methods are the most cost-effective way to achieve big reductions in nitrogen, Ulrich said. Thanks to the upgrades at the DeBary plant, the county is ahead of its 5-year goal in the action plan for reducing nitrogen. The county also has stepped up efforts to educate homeowners on fertilizer use.<\/p>\n

But all of those steps alone will not be enough to clean up the springs, Ulrich said. “The big elephant in the room is septic tanks.”<\/p> \t<\/div>\n <\/div>

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In DeBary, hundreds of homes with septic tanks sit upslope from Gemini Springs, shown on the bottom left. A springs action plan approved by the state last year lists projects to try to convert many of the homes to more advanced treatment systems or city sewers to try to improve the quality of water flowing from Gemini Springs. Photo provided by Volusia County Property Appraiser's office.<\/div>\n \t<\/div>\n <\/div><\/div>
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\u201cThey\u2019re part of the problem\u201d<\/h1>\n <\/div>\n
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Casey Fitzgerald, Springs Protection Initiative director for the Management District, calls it a “difficult political issue for local elected officials.”<\/p>\n

“In general, folks really like their septic tanks,” Fitzgerald said. “They don’t recognize the fact they’re part of the problem. It takes an educational effort and political fortitude to move forward with these projects.”<\/p>\n

For now, the parts of the action plans addressing what owners of existing septic tanks will be required to do are on hold. The clean-up plans for Gemini Springs and DeLeon Springs became effective in January. But parts of each are delayed while local and state officials develop the rules and information to put them into action, including where necessary funding will come from.<\/p>\n

Other plans are moving forward. Any builder of a new single-family home on a lot less than one acre in size in DeLeon Springs or DeBary now is required to install a nitrogen-removing septic tank with added features that provide enhanced treatment of the wastewater or hook up to sewer if available. Such tanks require individual site engineering.<\/p>\n

To the frustration of local officials, because the Blue Spring plan is tied up in the administrative challenge, the Florida Department of Health says it must continue allowing new septic tanks to be installed in that spring’s basin.<\/p>\n

Once the springs action plans are fully in effect, requirements will include a combination of replacing or enhancing some traditional septic tanks with more advanced and costly treatment systems, and removing other septic tanks and hooking those homes up to municipal sewers in Deltona, DeBary, Orange City and DeLand.<\/p>\n

“We will eventually get to the point where the existing systems will be required to be replaced with upgraded systems,” said the DEP’s Frick.<\/p> \t<\/div>\n <\/div>

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