Florida will adopt new plans for addressing pollution in nine freshwater springs under a recent legal settlement. The state must develop new Basin Management Action Plans (BMAPs) for each springshed aimed at reducing pollution.

The settlement applies to seven springs on the Suwannee River in rural north Florida, as well as Wekiwa and Rock springs outside of Orlando in central Florida. These waterways face contamination from agricultural lands and septic systems, which are the two largest sources of nitrogen pollution in Florida’s springs.

Nitrogen pollution contributes to harmful algae blooms in waterways across Florida. The new BMAPs must include more projects to decrease the flow of pollution and must increase water monitoring and enforcement.

In the Wekiwa and Rock springshed, septic systems account for 52 percent of the pollution. The plan for the Wekiwa and Rock springshed must expand a prohibition on new conventional septic systems and a requirement to upgrade existing systems.

Agricultural best management practices involve adjusting fertilizer and water use to minimize the flow of pollution. The Department of Environmental Protection is required to verify whether agricultural best management practices are working, particularly in the Suwannee springshed.

Ryan Smart, executive director of the Florida Springs Council, described the importance of these regulatory tools. "BMAPs are the only regulatory strategy we have in Florida to take a polluted body of water and make it clean again. So they are incredibly important."

Smart also noted the limitations of previous efforts. "The BMAPs have been around for a long time, but they have not been effective. We don’t have significant successes where there have been Basin Management Action Plans for really polluted major bodies of water, and they have been brought back."

Why It Matters

The settlement resolves litigation that began after the First District Court of Appeal invalidated the BMAPs of several springs in 2023. Environmental groups argued that the previous BMAPs failed to include lists of projects that would sufficiently reduce pollution, a water quality monitoring component, or a mechanism for addressing future pollution associated with population growth.

The Florida Springs Council filed requests for administrative hearings before the Department of Environmental Protection in 2025 over the plans for the Suwannee River and Wekiwa and Rock springsheds. Friends of the Wekiva River joined the litigation over the plan for the Wekiwa and Rock springshed. The agreement mandates specific verification steps and infrastructure upgrades to address the primary sources of nitrogen contamination.

Timeline

On December 1, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed to establish new and revised human health water quality criteria for certain pollutants in the state of Florida. The First District Court of Appeal invalidated the BMAPs of several springs in 2023.

The Florida Springs Council filed requests for administrative hearings before the Department of Environmental Protection in 2025 over the plans for the Suwannee River and Wekiwa and Rock springsheds. On Nov. 24, 2025, FSC filed two new petitions challenging the 2025 Suwannee and Wekiwa and Rock Springs Basin Management Action Plans.