Location

Peacock II/III is a single spring with two vents, a spring vent (II) and a siphon vent (III), located in Peacock Springs State Park, in Suwannee County, near Lauraville, Florida. Latitude: 30 07 23.62 N, Longitude: 83 07 59.35 W.

Description

Peacock II/III is typically a part of Peacock I spring, but due to the drought in the Fall of 2007, it was a small isolated pool measuring about 60 feet long and 50 feet wide with depths at about 5 feet. The spring run would flow to the Suwannee River, 1.5 miles away. The cave entrance (Peacock III) is under a limestone ledge at the far end of the pool access. Peacock II's vent is near the pool entrance. The bottom is primarily uneven limestone with patches of grass. Algae were abundant in the water and floating in clumps around the perimeter. The water is clear, but tinted blue. A boil was not visible at Peacock II, but slight irregular waves of refracted light indicated a very slight flow. Peacock III is siphon cave dive nearly 2500 feet long. The spring is described on the CD Springs of Florida, Florida Geological Survey, Bulletin No. 66, but is not in the book.

Discharge

October 13, 2007: too slight to determine.

Analysis

Temperature is in Celcius (22C = 72F), TDS is Total Dissolved Solids, DO is Dissolved Oxygen, Nitrate is NO3+NO2 as Nitrogen, Nitrite is NO2 as Nitrogen, Phosphate is PO4, E. Coli (number of colonies per 100 mL) measured using Easy Coliscan method. All values are reported in parts per million (mg/L), except Turbidity (JTU's or meters). Turbidity measured in NTU in 2002 and in JTU or meters in later years, NTU of 10 is crystal clear, at 50 there is haze or "see-through milky." JTU is essentially centimeters of clarity, so 60+ or 100+ indicates crystal clear water. Secchi Disk is depth in meters (m). WQI is the water quality index, a summary figure (100 is best possible). Critter counts are subjective categories of Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor, and are based on the number of individuals and variety of species.

Summary

Phosphate is a bit high providing an excellent nutrient for the extensive alga blooms. This is most likely due to the drought. Dissolved Oxygen is a bit high as well, but the nearly stagnant pond has had plenty of time for the water to absorb oxygen from the air. The major concern here is the high E. Coli count. EPA puts the limit at 500 colonies per 100mL for swimming (1,000 for boating) and we counted 700 colonies. Additionally, we found 800 colonies of "other bacteria," indicating that it is probably not a good idea to swim or dive at this time (October, 2007). A good rain to increase the flow would help clean the water.

National Association for Cave Diving, PO Box 14492, Gainesville, FL 32604, Telephone and Fax: 1-888-565-NACD (6223)