Water resources of the Santa Fe River basin, Florida

The Santa Fe River basin is a 1,384 square-mile area in north-central Florida. The principal source of water is the Floridan aquifer, a sequence of limestone beds, the upper 300 to 800 feet of which contain potable water. The western part of the basin has the greatest potential yields for individual wells, as much as 5,000 gallons per minute, and contains the largest surface-water supplies. Spring discharge and diffuse seepage from the Floridan aquifer augment the Santa Fe River. The Floridan aquifer is overlain by a confining bed that in the western part of the basin is ineffectual. In the eastern part the Floridan aquifer is confined and the confining bed is overlain by a surficial aquifer. The confining bed contains water-yielding zones, which in addition to the surficial aquifer , may supply water for domestic use. Numerous tributary streams supply small amounts of water to the Santa Fe River and its principal tributary, New River. The base flow of most of these streams is supplied by the surficial aquifer. Estimated water use is about 17 million gallons per day, and runoff from the basin is estimated to be 1,400 million gallons per day. (USGS)