Location

Ruth Spring is located in the Troy Spring Conservation Area in Lafayette County, near Branford, Florida. Latitude: 29 59 44.78 N, Longitude: 82 58 36.50 W.

Description

Ruth Spring measures 75 feet north to south and 50 feet east to west. During the drought (Summer, Fall, 2007) the spring pool was approximately half this size. The cave entrance is at the west end, under an exposed limestone ledge at about 6feet deep (4 feet, October, 2007). The bottom is primarily sand with patches of grass. Algae were abundant in the water and floating in clumps around the perimeter. The water is clear, but tinted green. A boil was barely visible. A slight odor of sulfur is sometimes detected, but not recently (October 2007). Ruth Spring is a side-mount cave dive approximately 1,000 feet. The spring is described in Springs of Florida, Florida Geological Survey, Bulletin No. 66, page 184-185.

Discharge

November 14, 1973: 11.50 cubic feet per second
June 24, 1997: 14.35 cubic feet per second
October 13, 2007: 2.08 cubic feet per second

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

Nitrates and Phosphates are higher than in the past, probably due to increased agriculture in the area and to the 2007 dramatic drought conditions. This has caused unusual alga blooms. Overall however the spring is quite healthy as of October 2007.

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