Water Conservation

Did you know Silver Springs is one of three first-magnitude springs in Marion County, discharging 6,000+ gallons per second?

With statistics like these, it may seem like our county has an endless reservoir, but we are currently facing two major issues concerning our water supply.

Pollution is a major issue in our county due to our karst landscape, which acts like a sponge allowing contaminates to readily seep into the soil and into our ground water. Some of our biggest pollution contributors are nutrients from fertilizers, pathogens from human and animal waste, and hydrocarbons from petroleum products, which not only affect the quality of drinking water, but also influence the ecology of our springs.

Over consumption is another major issue we are having to face as our county's population continues to grow. By learning new ways of conserving water resources, we can protect the health of our springs and help maintain our ground-water supply for the future.

We provide information and classes on rainwater harvesting through cisterns, retrofitting homes to be more water efficient, and pollution-reduction behaviors.