Water Quality Issues

In general, Leon County faces many of the same water quality issues that impact communities across the United States (Click to see EPA's National Summary of Impaired Waters and TMDL Information). 

In Leon County, water quality issues are associated with nonpoint source pollution and changes in the watershed's hydrology. Water quality issues caused by nonpoint source pollution include excess nutrients and bacteria. Excess nutrients in a waterbody often lead to algal blooms which can then cause fish kills. An increase in bacterial levels, typically coliform type bacteria, can lead to public health concerns and beach closings. Changes in the watershed's hydrology, such as increased impervious surface, channel modification, filling of wetlands, and excessive erosion caused by poor land management, impact water quality by increasing the volume, velocity, and temperature of runoff and altering the habitat of fish and other aquatic life.
 
To address these issues, Leon County has in place a series of policies, regulations, and standard operating procedures that attempt to reduce the impacts of nonpoint source pollution and minimize adverse changes to a watershed's hydrology. Leon County Staff also monitor the quality of our water resources through field sampling to analyze the chemical makeup of our waters and to assess the biological health of our lakes and streams. This information is used to guide decisions on how to change our existing policies, regulations, and procedures to further protect our water resources. 

Please visit the Water Quality Data page for specific information on Leon County's water resources.

Please visit the NPDES page for information on what Leon County is doing to address water quality issues.

To find out which of the 25 drainage basins in Leon County that you live in, please visit the Natural Features Map on the TLC-GIS website. (Hint: Make Drainage Basins the only visible layer. Click on Drainage Basins to make it the active layer and use the   button to display the basin name.)

To find out what you can do to help minimize nonpoint source pollution and it's impacts on Leon County water resources, click here.

If you have any questions or would like more specific information on a water quality topic, please contact Mark Tancig, Water Resource Specialist, at 850-606-1523 or tancigm@leoncountyfl.gov.

Interactive Leon County Basin Map  (mouse over basin name)
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