Dive Report: Morrison Springs 05-21-2009

Decided to throw caution to the wind and go Dive Morrison's even though it has just fallen under the "Safe" Bacteria Levels! I picked up my buddy at 10:00 and headed East down I-10 and with all the conversations and stories it wasn't long before we were pulling into the parking lot. A cursory inspection left little doubt that the water was still very high. In fact it's just below the steps to the Pavilion, and even though the water was clear in the area which was the old boat launch it was murky as Heck in the entire basin. But we were both eager to get wet and by 12:12 we were in the water. As we could tell from the surface, the viz was only about 5-10 feet in the basin but in the bowl it was much clearer at about 40 feet and at the cavern entrance it was unlimited. We spent 45 minutes in the water on the first dive and only 30 only the second. We showed a min temp of 68*. The park was looking clean and we saw no issues in the bathrooms (Except someone has smashed the deodorizer off the wall) and we saw no snakes or gators! A nice day of diving albeit short, but always worth the trip.

Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service: Tallahassee: Choctawhatchee River at Caryville

You can keep an eye on the water levels there.

I'd been watching them, but I'd heard the viz was good so that's why we went, it was terrible in the basin but great (As usual) at the cavern entrance.

Yeah, now that the water temps of the river water is higher than the spring water, you can usually dive underneath the tannin and find clear water. In the winter, the water mixes and its just a mess until you get into the cavern itself.

On the outside of the basin we hit some warmer areas that made me think I'd let loose in my wetsuit!