geogator
Contributor
I just wanted to pass along some info for anyone heading to north Florida for some diving in a couple of the springs. For those not from the area, for 2 days during the first weekend of March there were torrential rains in extreme south Georgia & along the Florida border. These rains, while welcomed, caused some area rivers, which were at very low levels, to rise quickly over the following week. Some sections of the Withlacoochee River east of Madison rose over 10 feet in the span of just a few days, while portions of the Suwannee rose anywhere from 4 - 7 feet as well. The result was a closure of the spring areas at both Madison Blue Springs & Troy Springs that lasted many days.
On Sunday, March 4th (1 day after the rains further upstream), I dove at Troy Springs & while the visibility wasn't nearly as good as I've seen it in the past, it was still ~30 feet which isn't too bad. The Suwannee River level at that time (at the gauge just down stream @ Branford) was ~7.5 feet. By the end of that week however, it was over 12 feet & I've been told that Troy Spring was closed for use at that time due to the Suwannee back flowing up the run & into the spring basin. Meanwhile, the Withlacoochee River rose nearly 10 feet that same week & Madison Blue Spring was closed for use as well due to the same issue.
On Saturday, March 24th, I had the opportunity to spend an afternoon visiting Madison Blue Spring while on a boy scout canoe trip. By that time, the river had dropped nearly 8.5 feet from it's peak the week before. We were told by park staff that the spring had actually just re-opened for use only 2 days beforehand from it's earlier closure. Although this was my first trip to Madison Blue (I've been to many others throughout the area numerous times), I was quite impressed by its overall natural beauty. Furthermore, the force of the flow moving down the run to the river was extremely strong, which made standing in more than hip deep areas very difficult. (But fun to float/ride down.) The clarity of the spring basin however, was poor & visibility was 10 feet at best. (I only snorkeled, as I'm not cave certified.) The park staff did mention that that particular spring tends to "flush" itself out fairly well after a backup from the river during higher water & it was expected to be much clearer by the following weekend.
Today I got the chance to dive at Troy Springs once again, this time with a local dive group that was having a workshop on some dive skills. I'm not sure what day Troy got the green light to re-open after the Suwannee's "surge" but mother nature has definitely left her mark in this particular spring. The entire main basin was covered in thick (1-2in) dark silt which clouded up with so much as a simple finger touch, let alone a diver's fins/movement. As such, the visibility was horrendous, no greater than ~5 feet except for w/in about 10 feet of the surface, but most times it was only an arm's length & in many places near the bottom, it was zero & DARK. Technically, park rules make flashlights a 'no-no' but I've always carried (snuck) a small one in there with me anyway (just to look into crevices, etc.) & was extremely thankful to have it today as the viz made having one a real safety issue in my opinion, especially below about 50 feet. (Max depth is 68-70.) The water temp was also several degrees colder than in my past visits. (69 deg today, 70 deg in March & 72 deg last summer) The poor viz made practicing some our skills more difficult (ie: shooting a lift bag & SMB) but that's ok IMO since if I could still manage to do it OK in those conditions, doing it in clearer water elsewhere will be even easier. I don't know how well Troy "flushes" itself out after one of these events but with the overall volume & thickness of the silt that I saw today (it coated the walls & even the over head in places) I would imagine it's going to be a good while before visibility clears up to where it normally is & the silt either gets removed, packed down or otherwise neutralized.
If you're planning to visit any of the springs that are along the Suwannee itself (or Madison Blue), try to either call ahead to the park or ask around (or use this forum) & find out what the visibility & silting conditions are like at that time. Obviously, keeping your buddy close is always a good diving habit but conditions like what I saw today make it even more critical. My rule of thumb for buddies is the deeper, darker or murkier the conditions become, the closer I get to my buddy & today we were knocking elbows which was a first for me. (Thanks for my great buddies today too - y'all know who you are!)
:yelclap:
I hope that this helps out anyone who's planning on being up in this neck of the woods in the near future & I'd be curious to see what other folks have observed recently from some of the other springs (or in the caves) along the river.
On Sunday, March 4th (1 day after the rains further upstream), I dove at Troy Springs & while the visibility wasn't nearly as good as I've seen it in the past, it was still ~30 feet which isn't too bad. The Suwannee River level at that time (at the gauge just down stream @ Branford) was ~7.5 feet. By the end of that week however, it was over 12 feet & I've been told that Troy Spring was closed for use at that time due to the Suwannee back flowing up the run & into the spring basin. Meanwhile, the Withlacoochee River rose nearly 10 feet that same week & Madison Blue Spring was closed for use as well due to the same issue.
On Saturday, March 24th, I had the opportunity to spend an afternoon visiting Madison Blue Spring while on a boy scout canoe trip. By that time, the river had dropped nearly 8.5 feet from it's peak the week before. We were told by park staff that the spring had actually just re-opened for use only 2 days beforehand from it's earlier closure. Although this was my first trip to Madison Blue (I've been to many others throughout the area numerous times), I was quite impressed by its overall natural beauty. Furthermore, the force of the flow moving down the run to the river was extremely strong, which made standing in more than hip deep areas very difficult. (But fun to float/ride down.) The clarity of the spring basin however, was poor & visibility was 10 feet at best. (I only snorkeled, as I'm not cave certified.) The park staff did mention that that particular spring tends to "flush" itself out fairly well after a backup from the river during higher water & it was expected to be much clearer by the following weekend.
Today I got the chance to dive at Troy Springs once again, this time with a local dive group that was having a workshop on some dive skills. I'm not sure what day Troy got the green light to re-open after the Suwannee's "surge" but mother nature has definitely left her mark in this particular spring. The entire main basin was covered in thick (1-2in) dark silt which clouded up with so much as a simple finger touch, let alone a diver's fins/movement. As such, the visibility was horrendous, no greater than ~5 feet except for w/in about 10 feet of the surface, but most times it was only an arm's length & in many places near the bottom, it was zero & DARK. Technically, park rules make flashlights a 'no-no' but I've always carried (snuck) a small one in there with me anyway (just to look into crevices, etc.) & was extremely thankful to have it today as the viz made having one a real safety issue in my opinion, especially below about 50 feet. (Max depth is 68-70.) The water temp was also several degrees colder than in my past visits. (69 deg today, 70 deg in March & 72 deg last summer) The poor viz made practicing some our skills more difficult (ie: shooting a lift bag & SMB) but that's ok IMO since if I could still manage to do it OK in those conditions, doing it in clearer water elsewhere will be even easier. I don't know how well Troy "flushes" itself out after one of these events but with the overall volume & thickness of the silt that I saw today (it coated the walls & even the over head in places) I would imagine it's going to be a good while before visibility clears up to where it normally is & the silt either gets removed, packed down or otherwise neutralized.
If you're planning to visit any of the springs that are along the Suwannee itself (or Madison Blue), try to either call ahead to the park or ask around (or use this forum) & find out what the visibility & silting conditions are like at that time. Obviously, keeping your buddy close is always a good diving habit but conditions like what I saw today make it even more critical. My rule of thumb for buddies is the deeper, darker or murkier the conditions become, the closer I get to my buddy & today we were knocking elbows which was a first for me. (Thanks for my great buddies today too - y'all know who you are!)
:yelclap:
I hope that this helps out anyone who's planning on being up in this neck of the woods in the near future & I'd be curious to see what other folks have observed recently from some of the other springs (or in the caves) along the river.
