==VIDEO REMEMBERING KISSENGEN SPRING==
Click Start Arrow For A Short Clip or Click Whole Program.
VIDEO REMBERING KISSENGEN SPRING
==LINK TO TRANSCRIPT OF "REMEMBERING KISSENGEN SPRING"==
Speaking for Florida's Springs from John Moran on Vimeo.
Kissengen Spring could flow again with some help. In the past, it was a place where many people came
to picnic, swim, have parties, get married, dance at the pavillion, rowboat and enjoy
the mineral waters to help with ailments. The spring was a place of natural enjoyment until it dried up in 1950. Hundreds of wells drilled into the Floridan Aquifer caused the demise of the spring. The spring was located near the northern end of Peace River as seen on the Florida map.
==Friends of Kissengen==
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==VIDEO REMEMBERING KISSENGEN SPRING==
VIDEO REMBERING KISSENGEN SPRING
==How Will We Know If The Spring Is Getting Closer To Recovery?==
Kissengen Spring is located on State Lands, within the Upper Peace River 100 year floodplain.
The site was never mined, but the surrounding terrain was disturbed by mining and reclamation in the late 1950s and early 60s.
The spring was the first major spring to cease flowing due to the capture of groundwater for human uses, in 1950.
The spring can only flow when the potentiometric level reaches 83.55’ msl in the Upper Floridan Aquifer beneath the Upper Peace River.
The aquifer has steadily recovered since reaching the lowest ever level of 20’ msl, in 1974.
It has reached average levels of 60’ msl since then, due to tremendous conservation efforts, and the hope is that it will eventually return to a potentionmetric level at or above the river valley floor, which is between 80 and 90’ msl.
At that time, all else being equal, Kissengen Spring may begin to flow again.
Such a recovery is dependent on public support for conservation, restoration, and the development of alternative sources for water supply, other than the traditional over-drafting of local aquifers.
==Florida Conservation Coalition==
The Florida Conservation Coalition is devoted to protecting and conserving
Florida’s land, fish and wildlife and water resources that are essential to
the well-being and quality of life of the residents of this state, and for its
long-term economic prosperity. Florida’s natural resources are a
treasure to be conserved for the people of Florida and must be managed
judiciously, not squandered.
Florida Coalition Conservation
==History==
"Quote from Cynthia Barnett's article." "It had been more than 60 years since they'd splashed in Polk County's Kissengen Spring.
But their memories were so crisp that one woman got a cold shiver as she remembered running down a long dock and diving into its icy-blue depths.
They'd pedaled their bicycles or saved gas coupons to carpool out to Kissengen in the 1940s, when it was a privately owned attraction.
They rode horses, ate 25-cent hamburgers and wore down the dance floor in the rustic pavilion next door to the spring.
But their best memories were of the water itself.
Cold and inviting, mysterious and exciting, there was no comparison to the city pool in nearby Lakeland. They plunged down Kissengen's steep slide into springwater that bubbled up from the Floridan Aquifer at the rate of 20 million gallons a day.
Their cannonballs sent ripples 200 feet around them to the edge of the spring pool.
They leaped from the dizzying wooden high-dive, framed by tall oaks and thick Spanish moss.
It was a picture straight out of the old Tarzan movies."
Cynthia Barnett Article- Kissengen Spring Dry Since 1950
1886 Burr Family and Kissingen Springs
In 1886, the Burr family moved near the Kissengen Spring to start farming.
A scroll down the above link will show an early drawing of the springs.
To find where the spring was, look at the old aerial map above that shows the location.
The water from the spring ran into Peace River.
The land is owned by the State of Florida. Access to the spring is only possible with a group that has permission.
The dirt road leading to the spring site is gated and locked.
There is the location of a spring waiting to come back to life. In 1962 a sinkhole filled in the spring vent with clay.
==THE CLAY IN THE VENT SHOULD NOT BE A PROBLEM==
Geologists have noted that clays entering the high flows of aquifer
groundwater immediately disperse and are diluted and carried away rapidly.
Although we previously had concern about clays plugging the spring connections to the aquifer,
we learned through the core sampling and pump tests that the subsurface caves,
and conduits are open and transmit tremendous volumes of water. No clay was found in the main caverns 40-60’ below ground, or deeper.
The clays that exist are restricted to the surface of the spring basin and are only 2’ thick.
They thin out with distance from the spring vent, and disappear at about 100’ yards down the spring run.
The fact that springflow was observed in 2006 indicates that the groundwater system is open for flows.
The problem is the lack of potentiometric levels and upward pressure within the aquifers.
==Google Kissengen Spring Bartow, Florida==
Go to Google maps and search Kissengen Spring Bartow, FL and a marker will pop up on the site.
Use the maximum zoom to see the springs site. A dirt road north of the site is seen that dead ends near the spring site.
The spring was a place of beauty and many people visited it or some worked at the pavillions over the years.
Alas, in 1950 the spring dried up and all that is left is a mudhole and maybe a spring reborn.
The article below below explains why it dried up.
Kissengen Spring was much enjoyed and now is dried up.
==We Know It Can Flow: See Below==
The amazing picture of Kissengen Spring taken in April 2006 contrasts with the
February 2006 photo showing spring flow after the 2004 hurricane season.
The sudden drying of the spring resulted from the onset of the 2006 drought coupled with heavy groundwater
pumping that lowered the local water table below the spring vent.
Efforts to offset excessive groundwater pumping include assisting farms and power plants with water reuse,
and The development of coastal desal. Public conservation efforts have already reduced groundwater consumption for Domestic uses by 20-30%.
Keeping a minimum aquifer level of around 90’ above sea level in the Upper Peace River
Would give the Peace a chance to regain flow from Kissengen Spring, and
provide a minimum flow for plants, animals, and canoeing.
==The Potential for Restoration of Kissengen Spring in Polk County, Florida==
Forgotten in the swampy floodplain of the Peace River in South Central
Florida, once famous Kissengen Spring lies dormant beneath fifty years of
backwater sediments. The site, though hardly recognizable as the location of
what was a second magnitude spring, once hosted thousands of visitors,
was the favorite swimming hole for thousands of regular locals,
and has been the featured subject in news articles since the late 19th century.
It is believed that Kissengen Spring was fed by pressurized waters from the Upper Floridan Aquifer System and perhaps other local aquifers.
As increased groundwater withdrawal beginning in the late 1930's lowered the potentiometric surface of the aquifers, Kissengen Spring gradually ceased flowing.
The spring was publicly declared inactive in 1950 as the result of overpumpage.
Investigations into the loss of the spring determined that it might flow again
should the recharge of the supporting aquifers exceed withdrawals, an unlikely scenario until several important factors changed.
Today, the restoration of Kissengen Spring is a topic that is receiving a serious review by environmental managers and by entities charged with the long-term planning for the development of the surrounding area.
Within this window of opportunity, the implications of treating the spring as a resource that might be restored is engaging the review of many stakeholders,
including a new generation of owners and potential users.
The underlying question may be whether or not the water shortage faced by Kissengen Spring is real and permanent,
or the result of a period of lower than average rainfall coupled with decades of pre-regulatory overdrafting of the aquifer.
If the latter is true, and consensus can be reached on the future disposition of groundwater resources,
then the potential exists for reclaiming the natural level of the local potentiometric surface in which case Kissengen Spring might be restored.
The Lake Hancock Outfall Wetland Project is a large-scale, flow-through,
wetland to improve the quality of water that discharges from Lake Hancock to Saddle Creek and ultimately to the Peace River and Charlotte Harbor.
The project site is located adjacent to and south of Lake Hancock in Bartow, Polk County, Florida.
The finished project will consist of a 1,008-acre treatment wetland located on former reclaimed phosphate mine clay settling areas now owned by the District.
Water will be pumped from the southern shore of the lake through three wetland cells.
The cells will incorporate narrow planting strips separated by larger natural recruitment zones.
The treated water will discharge from the Cell 3 wetland outfall structure into Lower Saddle Creek, which is downstream of the lake outfall structure (P-11).
The project includes construction of an inlet pump station,
instrumentation, controls, control structures, earthwork, embankment, slurry cut-off wall, channels, aeration structure and access road.
On the south end of Lake Hancock is a structure called P-11.
It can be raised or lowered to control the level in Lake Hancock.
The plan is to raise the level of the lake about a foot and making the lake a natural storage area for much needed water.
The water can't be directly discharged into Peace River because of the polluted condition of the water.
A second project is being built on the Old Plantation property to clean the water and send it to Peace River.
These two projects will increase the clean flow of Peace River and hopefully recharge the aquifer around the Kissengen Spring area.
We Friends of Kissengen wait to see the effect of these two projects on Kissengen Spring.
There is an ongoing project to raise the level of Lake Hancock and start a larger flow towards Peace River.
This article below the picture explains the Lake Hancock Project.
P-11 controls the level of Lake Hancock by raising or lowering a weir gate.
Lake Hancock gains water by from direct rainfall, groundflow percolation, and from several creeks that drain the Lakeland and Auburndale ridge.
Progressing from west to east (clockwise), Banana Creek drains Banana Lake, and enters through the Circle B Bar Ranch wetland treatment area.
Saddle Creek drains the valley north of Lake Hancock up to Interstate 4, and flows through the lake before exiting at the southwest end.
To the east, Lena Run drains an area up to the west side of Auburndale,
then passes through a series of reclaimed wetland treatment areas before entering Lake Hancock on the southeast side.
During extremely wet periods, the lake rises and requires releases of water to maintain the current 99’ msl operating level.
The graph below shows a 90 day period through October 31, 2011. The P-11 gate was opened several times to control high lake levels. Otherwise, there was no flow exiting Lake Hancock.
P-11, located at the southwestern outlet of Lake Hancock, feeds Saddle Creek, which joins with Peace Creek about one mile north of the SR 60 bridge across the Peace River. The Peace River officially begins at the confluence of Saddle Creek with Peace Creek, and continues about 85 miles southward to Charlotte Harbor and eventually the Gulf of Mexico.
30 October 2011 Lake Hancock Project Sign==NOW IT STARTS!==
Safety Hats, Safety Goggles, Safety Boots are required.
The spring now is dormant. Can it be brought back? Some people hope so.
Program:Revitalizing Kissingen Spring
Many springs in Florida are in trouble. The springs are taken for granted that they will always
be there. The truth is many are in trouble.
Vanishing Springs-A Wake-Up Call
At left, Kissengen Spring, located four miles southeast of Bartow, was a popular recreational area. It stopped flowing in 1950 due to over pumping of the aquifer in the region, largely by the phosphate industry. When the spring flowed, it discharged about 20 million gallons of water daily into a spring pool from a 17-foot deep cavern. Today the spring basin is overgrown with native and invasive plants and there's little evidence of its former glory. Overuse of groundwater by industry, agriculture and residents in the upper and lower basins continues to cause problems in the Peace River watershed.
The 20 million gallons of water from Kissengen Spring used to flow into the Peace River daily.
The lack of the spring water has greatly changed the condition of the Peace River for the worse.
==Peace River Watershed==
On the above link, see the video "Restoring the Pieces of the Peace River" and view the article "Peace River Watershed Excursion" Before Kissengen Spring can be restored, the watershed needs restoring.
This article shows some bathers in the spring and a diving board behind them. The Polk
County Museum had a Historical Marker Ceremony and a documentary video was presented in August 2011. The marker has now been placed at the Mosaic Peace River Park for the public to view.
Kissingen Spring Was Spot For Fun
Here is a pdf file that has a picture taken in the 1930's and describes the activities that
were done in the pavillion. Also, Polk County people will enjoy the rest of the old pictures.
Activities That Were In The Pavillion
==Historical Marker for Kissengen Springs==
Kissingen Spring on Face Book. Some excellent pictures of the historical marker, people at the ceremony, displays about the springs, several pictures of the sping.
Face Book Historic Marker Ceremony
Picture Permission John Moran--See His beautiful Site
The historical marker was funded by the Florida Humanities Council and this article describes the ceremony. Kissengen Spring Historical Marker Presentation]
Florida Archives has several old photos of the spring. At one time it had water slides.
==Hydrology Problems With The Springs==
In 1962 a sinkhole formed near the site of Kissengen Spring and a flow of clay went down
the flow vent and probably the underground channels. This could have been a major problem in
restoring flow to the spring. But, during the 2004 hurricance season the spring flowed again for a short time. The clay did not plug the vent Kissengen Spring Flow Restoration
What does the spring site look like today? Here is shown an old picture compared to a recent
picture of the area. Keep in mind the fill in situation. How Does The Spring Look Today?]
Peace River sometimes goes dry and flows into several sinks around the riverbed. Here is a
series of pictures of Peace River showing different water levels and places where the water
flows into openings to the underground karst conduits.
Peace River Is Sometimes Dry And Flows Underground
Work down way past two old pictures of the spring and find a 2006 picture of the spring basin with a sediment layer and the next picture of a water level gauge being placed in the mud.
Find Picture Of Water Gauge Being Placed In The Mud
Kissengen Spring used to put 20 million gallons of water per day into Peace River and then the river
had a year round flow. Lacking the spring water and 11 million gallons going down into large
sinks causes the upper river to go dry in the spring. It is indeed a complex problem. Water
regulation use was not in effect until too late. Progress is slowly being made to control
draining the aquifer. Shown here is the size of one of the many cracks in Peace River.
The number of cracks and sinks in the Peace River are numerous. The water flows down into
huge caverns that can hold millions of gallons of water. Find pages 56-59 to see some
excellent pictures of these leaks from the Peace River down into the aquifer.
There are many great pictures in this 92 page report.
A hydrology report on Peace River and points to efforts to repair damage done by lowering the water table.
Hydrology Report On Peace River]
An article from Cynthia Barnett who wrote the book Mirage:Florida and the Vanishing Water of the Eastern U.S.
Cynthia Barnett and the Vanishing Water]
June, 2011 Cynthia Barnett writes an article for the St. Petersburg Times that proposes all citizens in Florida should be concerned as to what is happening to our water supply.
==Florida Aquifers==
Here is a USGS report to help understand the Floridan Aquifer and why there are
springs, sinkholes, artesian wells in Florida. The aquifer is the source of water for millions of people in the Southeast.
Information about the Floridan Aquifer is found here.
Most spring water comes from the Floridan Aquifer. This water enters the aquifer from groundwater rechage areas across the Southeast. Important: The water is under pressure
and this force pushes water out of spring vents. Here is an excellent resource for understanding
the dynamics of aquifers.
==Who Is Protecting The Springs?==
Florida has the DEP or Department of Environmental Protection which is agency for protecting many
natural resorces, including springs. How they are involved with springs is found here. Department of Environmental Protection]
Locations of springs in Florida. There are several links here and pictures of the main springs of Florida. The animations on the interactive Florida Springs 101 are very informative. Florida's Springs Protecting Nature's Gems
==Southwest Florida Water Management District==
Any hope of restoring Kissengen Spring is found in the report of SWFWMD "Southern Water Use Caution Area Recovery Strategy".
Find page 9 and there is this quote. "In order to restore flow from Kissengen Spring, it will be necessary to increase groundwater levels in the vicinity of the springs. The only practical means of accomplishing this would be to reduce groundwater withdrawls."
Find page 85 and read about the Lake Hancock Project. This project hopes to raise the level of Lake Hancock about 1 foot. The result would increase flow into the Peace River. Part of the project is to filter the water through marsh areas before releasing it.
Find page 100 and "Streamflow Losses Through Karst Features in the Upper Peace River". Peace River has several openings into the karst conduits and millions of gallons of water flow
underground instead of down the riverbed. This project hopes to create berms around these
holes and limit the amount of water being lost.
Projects are in the works as we speak to restore the whole Peace River Basin. South Water Use Caution Area Recovery Strategy
===Circle B Bar Reserve===
Let's take a trip to an old cattle ranch on North end of Lake Hancock that is being restored to a marsh
that helps clean the water and provide habitat for many plants and animals.
Watch some wonderful
pictures of plants, animals,and some other surprises.
There is a full screen option in the lower right hand corner for best veiwing.
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Flows from Lake Hancock through the P-11 structure are uncommon during dry years.
