In 2026, most of Florida experienced Extreme (D3) or Exceptional (D4) Drought, and as of July, this has persisted in many areas. The effects are visible in water bodies connected to the Floridan aquifer. Spring flow is down in the Suwannee River basin, compounding decades of aquifer withdrawals that have placed the Suwannee on the Ten Most Endangered Rivers in the United States, a list released annually by American Rivers.
During the same drought, the output of Wakulla Spring has remained strong while many karst-connected waterways in its springshed, sinkhole lakes such as Lake Jackson and Upper Lake Lafayette, have dried down. Researchers are still trying to figure out the movement of water in the Wakulla springshed. When less water flows into it from one part of the aquifer, what sources feed it?
We talk about a new research initiative to fully map the cave system feeding Wakulla Spring, the largest such cave system in North America, and about communicating the connectedness between Tallahassee and the spring. We also look at water usage in Florida, and how it has affected the 300 springs around the Suwannee and its tributaries. And we consider the potential effects of AI data centers on Florida's groundwater.
Our guests are:
Haley Moody, Director of the Florida Springs Institute.
Ming Ye, PhD, Professor of Hydrology at the Florida State University Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science (EOAS) and the Department of Scientific Computing.
Kellie Keys, who for the last two years has served as the Communication Director of the Wakulla Springs Lab at Florida State University
