The WFSU Ecology Blog
  • Home
    • About
    • EcoAdventures
      • Kayak and Canoe Adventures
      • Hiking
      • Wildlife Watching
    • Observations From the Field
      • White Pelicans Visit Dr. Charles L. Evans Pond in Tallahassee
      • An April Walk at Ochlockonee River WMA
      • Nesting Raptors at Honeymoon Island State Park
    • WFSU Public Media Home
  • Documentaries
    • In Their Words: Black Legacy Communities in North Florida
    • EcoCitizen Show | Seasons in South Tallahassee
    • Red Wolf Family Celebrates First Year at the Tallahassee Museum
    • Roaming the Red Hills
    • Oyster Doctors
    • Testing the Ecology of Fear
    • EcoShakespeare
    • Stories from the Apalachicola
    • Classic WFSU Ecology Documentaries
  • Habitats
    • Estuaries
      • Oyster Reef
        • The Effects of Predators and Fear on Oyster Reefs
        • Apalachicola Oyster Research
        • Animal Species in a North Florida Intertidal Oyster Reef
        • Oyster Reef Ecology | On the Reef
      • Salt Marsh
        • In the Grass- Salt Marsh Biodiversity Study
        • Plants and Animals of a North Florida Salt Marsh
        • Salt Marsh Ecology | In the Grass
      • Seagrass Bed
        • Predatory Snails, and Prey, of the Bay Mouth Bar Seagrass Beds
      • In the Grass, On the Reef Glossary
    • Waterways Big and Small
      • Aucilla/ Wacissa Watershed
      • Apalachicola Basin
        • Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines | Virtual Field Trip
        • The Age of Nature Screening & Discussion | The Future of the Apalachicola
        • Apalachicola River and Bay
        • Apalachicola RiverTrek | Kayaking, Camping, & Hiking the River Basin
    • Longleaf Pine & Fire Ecology
  • Backyard Habitat
    • Backyard Blog
      • My Year in Bugs: the 2022 Backyard Blog
      • Backyard Ecology Blog | 2021
      • Backyard Blog November/ December 2020
      • Backyard Blog September/ October 2020
      • July and August 2020 Backyard Blog
      • Backyard Blog June 2020
      • Backyard Blog May 2020
      • Backyard Blog April 2020
      • Backyard Blog February and March 2020
      • Backyard Blog January 2020
      • Backyard Blog October through December 2019
      • Backyard Blog September 2019
      • Backyard Blog August 2019
      • Backyard Blog July 2019
      • Backyard Blog June 2019
      • Backyard Blog May 2019
      • Backyard Blog April 2019
      • Backyard Blog March 2019
      • Backyard Blog February 2019
      • Backyard Blog January 2019
      • The Backyard Bug Blog 2018
    • Backyard Flora and Fauna
      • Bees of North Florida and South Georgia
      • The Seasonality of Bees (and Bee Plants) in North Florida
      • Woody Vines of North Florida
      • Flies of North Florida are More Diverse than You’d Think
      • The Case for Weeds, Our Unsung Florida Native Plants
      • Devil’s Walkingstick: Your New Favorite Thorny Pollinator Plant?
      • Florida Native Milkweed | Tips for Growing Your Monarch Friendly Garden
      • Mistletoe | A Parasite for the Holidays (But Maybe We Like it Anyway?)
    • Florida Friendly Seasonal Planting Guide
    • Pollinator and Gardening Posts
    • Gardening Web Resources
Kayak and Canoe Adventures
RiverTrek 2021: Five Days on the Apalachicola River
Lower Lake Lafayette: Kayak Tallahassee’s Hidden Swamp
Chipola River Paddling Trail | The Ovens and...
Kayaking Bald Point | Adventure on a Living...
Wacissa Springs Adventure | Kayaking a Wild Florida...
A Geologist’s View of the Apalachicola River |...
Upper Chipola River Kayak Adventure | Ghosts &...
Tate’s Hell & the Apalachicola River Delta |...
Kayak Scouting Mission on the Ochlockonee Water Trail
Merritt’s Mill Pond | Kayaking and Spring Caves

The WFSU Ecology Blog

  • Home
    • About
    • EcoAdventures
      • Kayak and Canoe Adventures
      • Hiking
      • Wildlife Watching
    • Observations From the Field
      • White Pelicans Visit Dr. Charles L. Evans Pond in Tallahassee
      • An April Walk at Ochlockonee River WMA
      • Nesting Raptors at Honeymoon Island State Park
    • WFSU Public Media Home
  • Documentaries
    • In Their Words: Black Legacy Communities in North Florida
    • EcoCitizen Show | Seasons in South Tallahassee
    • Red Wolf Family Celebrates First Year at the Tallahassee Museum
    • Roaming the Red Hills
    • Oyster Doctors
    • Testing the Ecology of Fear
    • EcoShakespeare
    • Stories from the Apalachicola
    • Classic WFSU Ecology Documentaries
  • Habitats
    • Estuaries
      • Oyster Reef
        • The Effects of Predators and Fear on Oyster Reefs
        • Apalachicola Oyster Research
        • Animal Species in a North Florida Intertidal Oyster Reef
        • Oyster Reef Ecology | On the Reef
      • Salt Marsh
        • In the Grass- Salt Marsh Biodiversity Study
        • Plants and Animals of a North Florida Salt Marsh
        • Salt Marsh Ecology | In the Grass
      • Seagrass Bed
        • Predatory Snails, and Prey, of the Bay Mouth Bar Seagrass Beds
      • In the Grass, On the Reef Glossary
    • Waterways Big and Small
      • Aucilla/ Wacissa Watershed
      • Apalachicola Basin
        • Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines | Virtual Field Trip
        • The Age of Nature Screening & Discussion | The Future of the Apalachicola
        • Apalachicola River and Bay
        • Apalachicola RiverTrek | Kayaking, Camping, & Hiking the River Basin
    • Longleaf Pine & Fire Ecology
  • Backyard Habitat
    • Backyard Blog
      • My Year in Bugs: the 2022 Backyard Blog
      • Backyard Ecology Blog | 2021
      • Backyard Blog November/ December 2020
      • Backyard Blog September/ October 2020
      • July and August 2020 Backyard Blog
      • Backyard Blog June 2020
      • Backyard Blog May 2020
      • Backyard Blog April 2020
      • Backyard Blog February and March 2020
      • Backyard Blog January 2020
      • Backyard Blog October through December 2019
      • Backyard Blog September 2019
      • Backyard Blog August 2019
      • Backyard Blog July 2019
      • Backyard Blog June 2019
      • Backyard Blog May 2019
      • Backyard Blog April 2019
      • Backyard Blog March 2019
      • Backyard Blog February 2019
      • Backyard Blog January 2019
      • The Backyard Bug Blog 2018
    • Backyard Flora and Fauna
      • Bees of North Florida and South Georgia
      • The Seasonality of Bees (and Bee Plants) in North Florida
      • Woody Vines of North Florida
      • Flies of North Florida are More Diverse than You’d Think
      • The Case for Weeds, Our Unsung Florida Native Plants
      • Devil’s Walkingstick: Your New Favorite Thorny Pollinator Plant?
      • Florida Native Milkweed | Tips for Growing Your Monarch Friendly Garden
      • Mistletoe | A Parasite for the Holidays (But Maybe We Like it Anyway?)
    • Florida Friendly Seasonal Planting Guide
    • Pollinator and Gardening Posts
    • Gardening Web Resources
Lakes

Lake Report 2021: Leon County’s Cleanest and Dirtiest Lakes

by Rob Diaz de Villegas June 24, 2021
by Rob Diaz de Villegas June 24, 2021 0 comment

Click to subscribe to the WFSU Ecology Blog

A couple of weeks ago, Porter Hole Sink went active and drained a large portion of Lake Jackson. The draw down attracted crowds- both in person and online. People were captivated by this well known waterway undergoing a dramatic- yet naturally and regularly occurring- geological event.

It’s a reminder of what our Leon County lakes mean to the area. We enjoy them for their own sake- fishing, kayaking, and boating in them, or hiking and bird watching around them. But they are a part of a larger whole, waterways connected above and below ground.

Our four largest natural lakes- Jackson, Iamonia, Miccosukee, and Lafayette- contain large sinkholes that periodically drain into the Floridan Aquifer, the source of our drinking water and springs. Three of those lakes have been shown to send water to Wakulla Spring. These and other lakes in our area contain smaller connections to the aquifer as well, and many are connected to rivers and other lakes by waterways aboveground.

Each of our lakes is an ecosystem unto itself, and also an interconnected component of our north Florida eco-region. With that in mind, we look at the health of our lakes. Leon County’s Water Quality Monitoring Program, led by Water Resource Scientist Johnny Richardson, samples area waterways multiple times a year. The following is data culled from their reports. We include a link to each lake’s individual report under its entry in this post.

Measuring Water Quality in Lakes- What do all the numbers mean?

Nutrients:  Leon County checks for chlorophyll-a, nitrogen, and phosphorous.  These nutrients are naturally occurring, but an excess can impair water quality and spur toxic algae (cyanobacteria) blooms. Non-naturally occurring nutrients can come from synthetic fertilizers and other human activities.

The ideal nutrient level for each lake depends on whether it is clear or dark, and if it’s clear, on its alkalinity.  Leon County uses Florida Department of Environmental Protection thresholds for nutrients based on these qualities.

When a lake exceeds a nutrient threshold, we’ll label the results in red.

Fish Safety: The Florida Department of Health regularly updates its Fish Consumption Advisories, which lists food safety information for state waterways.  DOH recommends limits for fish containing a certain amount of mercury and other contaminants; mercury level varies by species and waterway.

1. Major Sinkhole Lakes of the Red Hills

Lake Jackson

Nutrients (FDEP Criteria for Clear Water, Low Alkalinity Lake)

Chlorophyll-a threshold: 6.0 micrograms (μg)/ Liter (11.4 in 2019)

Total nitrogen threshold: .51-.93 milligrams (mg)/L (.54 in 2019)

Total phosphorous threshold: .01-.03 mg/L (.03 in 2019)

Per FDEP requirements, a lake cannot exceed any of these three criteria more than once in a three year period. Lake Jackson has exceeded chlorophyll-a in four of the last five years, total nitrogen in three of five, and total phosphorus in four of five.

The 2019 measurement for chlorophyll-a is the highest ever recorded for Lake Jackson. According to Leon County’s report for the lake, the reason might be heavy herbicide spraying aimed at reducing invasive hydrilla. Where the herbicide was sprayed on the south side of the lake, native floating plants were “no longer present in the numbers needed to ‘shade out’ phytoplankton, allowing phytoplankton numbers to increase and contributing to the elevated chlorophyll-a numbers.”

Lake Jackson Fish Advisory

The Florida Department of Health recommends limits for fish consumption based on mercury levels in Lake Jackson:

  • Black crappie, bluegill, chain pickerel, redear sunfish, and warmouth: two per week
  • Largemouth bass: two per week, once per month for pregnant women and young children.
Lake Jackson exposed- water flows through a ravine and into Porter Sink after the sinkhole became active and drained the lake.

Lake Jackson at a Glance

  • Lake Jackson covers around 4,254 acres, and drains a basin of 27,096 acres.
  • A prairie lake with two major sinkholes, Porter Hole Sink and Lime Sink. Like the other three major sinkhole lakes in Tallahassee, it dries down periodically, most recently in 2021 (pictured here).
  • The only one of the Red Hills sinkhole lakes never to have had its major sinkholes dammed.
  • In 2018, McGlynn Laboratories, Inc. found a connection between Porter Sink and Wakulla Spring using a dye trace.

Read the full Leon County report for Lake Jackson.


Lake Iamonia

Nutrients (FDEP Criteria for Dark Water Lake)

Chlorophyll-a threshold: 20 micrograms (μg)/ Liter (6.2 in 2019)

Total nitrogen threshold: 1.27-2.23 milligrams (mg)/L (.50 in 2019)

Total phosphorous threshold: .05-0.16 mg/L (.02 in 2019)

Metals

Two of Lake Iamonia’s sampling stations showed elevated copper levels in 2019. The report theorizes this is from copper-based algaecides used in the lake.

Lake Iamonia Fish Advisory

The Florida Department of Health recommends limits for fish consumption based on mercury levels in Lake Iamonia:

  • Black crappie, bluegill and redear sunfish: Twice a week, and once a week for pregnant women and young children.
  • Brown bullhead catfish: two per week.
  • Largemouth bass: Once per week, once per month for pregnant women and young children.
WFSU Ecology Producer Rob Diaz de Villegas and his then five year old son Xavi canoe Lake Iamonia during a lake cleanup event.

Lake Iamonia at a Glance

  • Lake Iamonia covers around 5,554 acres, and drains a basin of 66,727 acres.
  • A prairie lake with a sinkhole, subject to periodic dry down events. Lake Iamonia also receives water from the Ochlockonee River when that river floods.
  • An earthen dam was built around the 20 acre sinkhole basin in 1939, to prevent draw downs. The gates of the dam were left permanently open starting in 1980, and were removed altogether in 2007.
  • In 2018, McGlynn Laboratories, Inc. found a connection between Iamonia Sink and Wakulla Spring using a dye trace.
  • Browse previous WFSU Ecology Blog stories about Lake Iamonia.

Read the full Leon County water quality report for Lake Iamonia.


Lake Miccosukee

Nutrients (FDEP Criteria for Dark Water Lake)

Chlorophyll-a threshold: 20 micrograms (μg)/ Liter (7.7 in 2019)

Total nitrogen threshold: 1.27-2.23 milligrams (mg)/L (.63 in 2019)

Total phosphorous threshold: .05-0.16 mg/L (.03 in 2019)

Lake Miccosukee Fish Advisory

The Florida Department of Health recommends limits for fish consumption based on mercury levels in Lake Miccosukee:

  • Bluegill: Twice a week.
  • Largemouth bass: Twice per week, once per month for pregnant women and young children.
The southwest corner of Lake Miccosukee. The water is lower than usual, but a dam is preventing the lake from a full draw down.

Lake Miccosukee at a Glance

  • Lake Miccosukee covers around 6,257 acres, and drains a basin of 147,861 acres.
  • A prairie lake with a sinkhole, subject to periodic dry down events.
  • The northern sinkhole was dammed in 1954, and the control structure is opened at times during droughts, to draw down the lake.
  • In 2018, we visited two smaller sinkholes in the southwest of the lake, after they had gone active. These do not drain the lake as a whole.

Read the full Leon County water quality report for Lake Miccosukee.


Lake Lafayette

The fourth of our large prairie lakes is the most altered by humans. Those of us who enjoy walking or biking on the Lafayette Heritage Trail have enjoyed views from earthen dams that split the lake in four. Those dams have altered the hydrology of the lake, and caused ecological problems in each of the smaller water bodies.

Lafayette Sink is in Upper Lake Lafayette. When it draws down, Piney Z. Lake, Lower Lake Lafayette, and Alford Arm do not.

As you can see in the map above, Lower Lake Lafayette and Alford Arm are heavily vegetated. According to Leon County, “although pockets of open water are scattered throughout Lower Lake Lafayette, the ‘lake’ functions more like a wetland.” Because it doesn’t draw down, what open water there is can become choked with floating islands of vegetation called tussocks. Within the last few years, Florida Fish and Wildlife and the County brought in heavy machinery to reestablish areas of open water.

Piney Z. Lake, on the other hand, has too little vegetation. The County’s report points to the use of herbicides and the introduction of grass eating carp. Because of the amount of runoff entering the lake, and the lack of vegetation to filter nutrients from that runoff, Piney Z. suffers from frequent toxic algae blooms.

Upper Lake Lafayette also receives runoff and suffers from toxic algae blooms. In 2018, a dye trace showed that water draining out of Lafayette Sink emerges from Wakulla Spring a few weeks later.

We’ll look at each “sub”-lake individually.

Upper Lake Lafayette

Nutrients (FDEP Criteria for Clear Water, High Alkalinity Lake)

Chlorophyll-a threshold: 20.0 micrograms (μg)/ Liter (48.2 in 2019)

Total nitrogen threshold: 1.05-1.91 milligrams (mg)/L (1.55 in 2019)

Total phosphorous threshold: .03-.09 mg/L (.14 in 2019)

Per FDEP requirements, a lake cannot exceed any of these three criteria more than once in a three year period. Upper Lake Lafayette has exceeded chlorophyll-a in three of the last five years, total nitrogen in two of five, and total phosphorus in three of five. However, low water levels in the lake prevented sampling in 2016 and 2018.

Fish Kills

Florida Department of Health does not list any fish advisories for Upper Lake Lafayette. However, the lake does have a history of fish kills. The report points to fluctuating water levels and runoff as affecting the amount of oxygen available to fish. A September 2019 fish kill, for instance, occurred when the water was down to the level of the sinkhole, and nutrients from runoff were concentrated in small area.

Piney Z. Lake

Nutrients (FDEP Criteria for Clear Water, Low Alkalinity Lake)

Chlorophyll-a threshold: 6.0 micrograms (μg)/ Liter (23.5 in 2019)

Total nitrogen threshold: .51-.93 milligrams (mg)/L (.87 in 2019)

Total phosphorous threshold: .01-.03 mg/L (.05 in 2019)

Piney Z. Lake has exceeded state limits for each category in almost every year since the county started sampling.

Piney Z. Lake Fish Advisory

The Florida Department of Health recommends limits for fish consumption based on mercury levels in Piney Z. Lake:

  • Bluegill and brown bullhead catfish: Twice a week, and once a week for pregnant women and young children.
  • Redear sunfish and warmouth: two per week.
  • Largemouth bass: Once per week, once per month for pregnant women and young children.
Lower Lake Lafayette as seen from the earthen dam separating it from Piney Z. Lake.
Lower Lake Lafayette as seen from the earthen dam separating it from Piney Z. Lake (April 2018).

Lower Lake Lafayette

Nutrients (FDEP Criteria for Dark Water Lake)

Due to low water conditions, Lower Lake Lafayette was not sampled in 2018 or 2019. The lake annually meets state water quality criteria.

Chlorophyll-a threshold: 20 micrograms (μg)/ Liter (5.4 in 2017)

Total nitrogen threshold: 1.27-2.23 milligrams (mg)/L (.64 in 2017)

Total phosphorous threshold: .05-0.16 mg/L (.02 in 2017)

There is no Florida DOH fish advisory for Lower Lake Lafayette

Alford Arm

Dense vegetation and low water levels have made Alford Arm difficult to sample. Because of this, the County stopped sampling here in 2015.

Lake Lafayette at a Glance

  • Upper Lake Lafayette covers about 354 acres, and drains a basin of 14,792 acres.
  • Piney Z. Lake covers about 228 acres, and drains a basin of 691 acres.
  • Lower Lake Lafayette covers about 1,006 acres, and drains a basin of 36,966 acres.
  • Alford Arm covers 371 acres and drains a basin of 30,116 acres.
  • Lower Lake Lafayette is home to a wood stork rookery.
  • Per the report: “In 1997, Lake Piney Z was drawn down and organic matter was scraped from the bottom and used to construct fishing fingers extending north from the southern bank.”
  • In 2018, McGlynn Laboratories, Inc. found a connection between sinks in Upper Lake Lafayette and Wakulla Spring using a dye trace.
  • Browse previous stories about Lake Lafayette.

Read the full Leon County water quality report for Lake Lafayette.


2. Other Lakes of the Red Hills

Lake Talquin

Lake Talquin is Tallahassee’s largest lake, but it is not a natural water body. It was formed in 1929 when the Jackson Bluff Dam was built on the Ochlockonee River, where it meets Highway 20.

Nutrients (FDEP Criteria for Dark Water Lake)

Chlorophyll-a threshold: 20 micrograms (μg)/ Liter (25 in 2019)

Total nitrogen threshold: 1.27-2.23 milligrams (mg)/L (.70 in 2019)

Total phosphorous threshold: .05-0.16 mg/L (.07 in 2019)

Lake Talquin has not met state criteria for Chlorophyll-a and total phosphorus threshold in four of the last five years.

Lake Talquin Fish Advisory

The Florida Department of Health recommends limits for fish consumption based on mercury levels in Lake Talquin:

  • Black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead catfish, channel catfish, redbreast, redear sunfish and spotted bullhead catfish: two per week.
  • Largemouth bass: Once per week, once per month for pregnant women and young children.

Lake Talquin at a Glance

  • Lake Talquin covers 7,782 acres and is created by the Ochlockonee River, which drains a 1,019,525 acre basin in Florida and Georgia.
  • The Ochlockonee River starts near Macon, Georgia, and runs 206 miles from there to Ochlockonee Bay in Florida.

Read the full Leon County water quality report for Lake Talquin.


Lake Hall

Nutrients (FDEP Criteria for Clear Water, Low Alkalinity Lake)

Chlorophyll-a threshold: 6.0 micrograms (μg)/ Liter (3.2 in 2019)

Total nitrogen threshold: .51-.93 milligrams (mg)/L (.26 in 2019)

Total phosphorous threshold: .01-.03 mg/L (.01 in 2019)

There is no Florida DOH fish advisory for Lake Hall

Lake Hall at a Glance

  • Lake Hall covers 182 acres and drains a basin of 773 acres.
  • The lake is a part of Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park.

Read the full Leon County water quality report for Lake Hall.


Bradford Brook Chain of Lakes

Lake Bradford, Lake Hiawatha, and Lake Cascade are connected by Bradford Brook. Lake Cascade flows into Lake Hiawatha via a culvert under Capital Circle, and lake Hiawatha flows into Lake Bradford. When water is high, the connection between Bradford and Hiawatha is navigable by boat, as pictured above.

Lake Bradford

Nutrients (FDEP Criteria for Dark Water Lake)

Chlorophyll-a threshold: 20 micrograms (μg)/ Liter (8 in 2019)

Total nitrogen threshold: 1.27-2.23 milligrams (mg)/L (.50 in 2019)

Total phosphorous threshold: .05-0.16 mg/L (.02 in 2019)

Metals

Lake Bradford has regularly been found to have elevated lead levels. The county believes this is caused by airline fuel from nearby Tallahassee Airport, and/ or is residual from a bygone shooting range located by Tallahassee Community College.

Lake Bradford Lake Fish Advisory

The Florida Department of Health recommends limits for fish consumption based on mercury levels in Lake Bradford:

  • Bluegill: Twice a week, and once a month for pregnant women and young children.
  • Redear sunfish: two per week, and once a week for pregnant women and young children.
  • Largemouth bass: Once per month, and a recommendation of DO NOT EAT for pregnant women and small children.

Lake Hiawatha

Nutrients (FDEP Criteria for Dark Water Lake)

Chlorophyll-a threshold: 20 micrograms (μg)/ Liter (7.7 in 2019)

Total nitrogen threshold: 1.27-2.23 milligrams (mg)/L (.52 in 2019)

Total phosphorous threshold: .05-0.16 mg/L (.02 in 2019)

Metals

Leon County found elevated copper levels in the first quarter of 2019. The source of the copper is unknown.

Lake Cascade

Nutrients (FDEP Criteria for Dark Water Lake)

Chlorophyll-a threshold: 20 micrograms (μg)/ Liter (4.8 in 2017)

Total nitrogen threshold: 1.27-2.23 milligrams (mg)/L (.83 in 2017)

Total phosphorous threshold: .05-0.16 mg/L (.01 in 2017)

Water levels were too low to sample in 2018-2019.

Bradford Brooke Chain of Lakes at a Glance

  • Lake Bradford covers 179 acres, Hiawatha 51 acres, and Cascade 124 acres. The Bradford Brook watershed drains a basin of 17,637 acres.
  • When the water is high enough, you can kayak or canoe between Lakes Bradford and Hiawatha, and up to the Florida panther enclosure at the Tallahassee Museum.

Read the full Leon County water quality reports for Lake Bradford, Lake Hiawatha, and Lake Cascade.


3. Lake Munson & the Munson Slough System

The Munson Slough system drains the south of Tallahassee, including heavily paved areas such as Florida State University, Florida A&M University, and downtown Tallahassee. A network of canals, pipes, and creeks from Cascades Park to Capital Circle Southwest drains into Munson Slough, which itself drains into Lake Munson. Munson Slough then continues out of Lake Munson, draining into the Floridan Aquifer at Ames Sink. That water emerges from Wakulla Spring within a couple of weeks.

Lake Munson

Nutrients (FDEP Criteria for Clear Water, High Alkalinity Lake)

Chlorophyll-a threshold: 20.0 micrograms (μg)/ Liter (11.1 in 2019)

Total nitrogen threshold: 1.05-1.91 milligrams (mg)/L (.52 in 2019)

Total phosphorous threshold: .03-.09 mg/L (.11 in 2019)

After regularly exceeding Chlorophyll-a and total nitrogen limits between 2012 and 2016, both have met FDEP criteria in samplings since then. Leon County attributes this to a reduction in nutrients flowing in from upstream, and a re-established aquatic plant community. Total phosphorus, on the other hand, has regularly exceeded limits since sampling began in 2004.

Metals

The county found elevated lead levels at two sampling stations in 2019.

Lake Munson Lake Fish Advisory

The Florida Department of Health recommends limits for fish consumption based on mercury levels in Lake Munson:

  • Bluegill, brown bullhead catfish, redear sunfish, and white catfish: Twice a week.
  • Largemouth bass: Two per week, and once a week for pregnant women and small children.

Florida DOH had once listed polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) as a contaminant for Lake Munson, but has not in its most recent advisories. However, sediment testing conducted in 2018 showed concentrations of PCBs, arsenic, barium, and dieldrin exceeding residential or commercial standards. PCBs were once used as coolants in electrical equipment, and were likely introduced into Lake Munson when the city would dump transformers into the lake (back when the Edison was a power station). PCBs have been linked to developmental issues in fetuses and children, and cancer.

Lake Elberta and Lake Henrietta

Neither Lake Henrietta or Lake Elberta are sampled. While these lakes have become two of Tallahassee’s top wildlife hotspots, they’re a part of our stormwater infrastructure. Lake Henrietta is situated along Munson Slough, just a few miles north of Lake Munson. Lake Elberta is a retention pond connected to a network of canals and pipes which includes Cascades Park, and which flows into Munson Slough just upstream of Lake Henrietta.

The Munson Slough watershed. Dots represent Leon County water quality sampling stations. Image created by Leon County Government. Lake Elberta and Lake Henrietta labels added by WFSU.

These water bodies were created to collect and filter stormwater making its way into Lake Munson, and ultimately Wakulla Spring. So while we may see garbage and algae blooms in these lakes, the idea is that the problems stay there and not flow downstream. And sampling does show a reduction in nutrients heading down Munson Slough and into Lake Munson in recent years.

Algae bloom in Lake Elberta, April 2021, in the shadow of FSU's Doak Campbell Stadium.
Algae bloom in Lake Elberta, April 2021, in the shadow of FSU’s Doak Campbell Stadium.

Despite their origins, these parks have value beyond stormwater management. Both are popular recreational spots, and an urban oasis for a wealth of bird species.

Because of this, there are people looking to reduce garbage and nutrients at their source, before they enter these water bodies. Apalachee Audubon Society commissioned a study looking at the source of Lake Elberta’s garbage problem, and ways to reduce it. WFSU’s 2021 Age of Nature intern, Chloe Thompson, wrote about the study early May 2021.

Click to subscribe to the WFSU Ecology Blog

Facebook Comments
Lake BradfordLake HallLake IamoniaLake JacksonLake LafayetteLake MiccosukeeLake MunsonMunson SloughPiney Z. Lakesinkhole lakeWakulla SpringsWFSU News
0 comment
0
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Rob Diaz de Villegas

Rob Diaz de Villegas is a senior producer for WFSU-TV, covering outdoors and ecology. After years of producing the music program OutLoud, Rob found himself in a salt marsh with a camera, and found a new professional calling as well. That project, the National Science Foundation funded "In the Grass, On the Reef," spawned the award winning WFSU Ecology Blog. Now he spends time exploring north Florida's forests, coasts, waterways, and the endlessly fascinating ecosystem that is the backyard garden. Rob is married with two young sons, who make a pretty fantastic adventure squad.

previous post
Lake Jackson Dry Down- Everything You Wanted to Know
next post
Nokuse Plantation and its 300 Year Mission to Restore Longleaf

Related Posts

Lake Jackson Dry Down- Everything You Wanted to...

June 10, 2021

Cycling Monticello’s Historic Canopy Roads

April 13, 2016

How Does All this Trash get to Lake...

May 6, 2021

Lake Elberta Park | A Tallahassee Bird Watching...

January 23, 2019

Bike and Kayak EcoAdventure on Tallahassee’s Lake Lafayette

September 26, 2013

Newly Discovered Crustacean Species Found Only in Lake...

July 12, 2022

Red Hills Lakes | Kayak, Hike, & SUP...

April 23, 2014

Making Lake Elberta a Florida Friendly Landscape

April 2, 2019

Are Sinkholes Making Lakes at Fred George Basin...

July 18, 2019

Lake Elberta and the Seasonality of Birds in...

March 28, 2019

Search

Subscribe

Subscribe to receive more outdoor adventures, and an in depth look at our local forests and waterways by Email.

If you do not receive a verification e-mail, check your spam folder.

Category

WFSU-FM Environmental Stories

  • Tallahassee’s latest urban reforestation effort brings new trees to Governor’s Park
  • Hurricane Ian’s estimated damage to Florida agriculture tops $1B
  • America’s largest underground springs gets even bigger with the discovery of another cave connection
  • DeSantis outlines second-term environmental plans
  • Deep freeze breaks pipes, creates water crisis across South

Twitter

Tweets by wfsuIGOR

iNaturalist

iNaturalist became a part of the WFSU Ecology Blog during the EcoCitizen Project in 2019.  Since then, we’ve used it to help identify the many plants and animals we see on our shoots.  And on the Backyard Blog, we show how it can be used to identify weeds and garden insects, to help figure out what’s beneficial or a possible pest.  Below is the iNaturalist profile belonging to WFSU Ecology producer Rob Diaz de Villegas.

iNaturalist


View robdv’s observations »

Most Recent

  • 2023 Update On The Reintroduction Of Eastern Indigo Snakes To The Apalachicola Bluffs And Ravines Preserve
  • Don’t tear it out? Rethinking (and rewilding) your Tallahassee lawn
  • How to Protect Florida Coasts from Hurricane Storm Surge
  • Backyard Blog 2023: Another year of stalking insects with a camera
  • Is birding better at Lake Jackson when it’s dried down?

Archives

June 2021
M T W T F S S
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
282930  
« May   Jul »

WFSU Ecology YouTube

Upcoming Ecology Blog stories

We’ve been busy working on the north Florida part of the NOVA | PBS #ClimateAcrossAmerica initiative. Our first story for that initiative has just dropped, on protecting Florida’s coasts from storm surge. We’ve been out in the field recently for a few other stories you won’t want to miss

 

Fire and Black Carbon in the Longleaf Forest

 

Prescribed fire helps maintain biodiversity in longleaf ecosystems, but it releases carbon into the atmosphere. Despite this, burning might help these systems store carbon in the long term. This is our second story for the #ClimateAcrossAmerica initiative.

 

Black and Yellow Rails: the most secretive birds in North America

 

Fire also helps maintain biodiversity in coastal salt marshes. We head to the coast with Tall Timbers Research Station in search of two seldom seen birds that rely on fire: black and yellow rails.

 

The Brown-Headed Nuthatch, a bird with a unique family structure

 

Back at Tall Timbers, we visit the nests of one of the cutest inhabitants of the longleaf forest, the brown-headed nuthatch. It’s one of a few birds where extended family help raise young.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Flickr
  • Youtube

@2017 - PenciDesign. All Right Reserved. Designed and Developed by PenciDesign