Water bodies, watersheds and storm water
Holiday Springs main view
Holiday Springs
Location
Holiday Springs is located just to the west of Yalaha, near the south shore of Lake Harris. Drive west on State Road 48 from the railroad crossing on the west side of Yalaha for 0.2 mile, then turn north on Robertson Road for about 450 feet. The spring is about 100 feet east of the road in a shallow ravine surrounded by a wooded area. The spring is surrounded by private land.
Latitude 28°44’25.45” N, Longitude 81°49’04.69” W
SE¼ SW¼ SW¼ sec. 16, T 20 S, R 25 E
Description
Holiday Springs pool
Holiday Springs is a third-magnitude spring that was formerly referred to as the Spring at Echo Glen at Yalaha. The spring discharges from a nearly horizontal, sand-filled cavity about 2 feet below the pool surface. The small, circular spring pool is about 5 feet in diameter at the upper end of a shallow and narrow ravine. Flow from the pool and additional small sand boils in the meandering run is toward the north, through a hardwood forest, for 0.25 mile to Lake Harris. A few hundred feet down the run from the head of the spring, the spring flow is sometimes diverted to a private swimming pool.
Discharge
Holiday Springs run
Discharge at Holiday Springs was measured by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) five times from 1946 to 1972. St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) measured discharge 91 times from 1991 to 2010 and currently measures discharge 12 times per year. The difference between the minimum and maximum discharges is 4.02 cubic feet per second (cfs) over the period. The maximum discharge of 4.91 cfs was measured in May 1998; the minimum discharge of 0.89 cfs was measured in May 2001. The mean and median discharges for the period from 1946 to 2010 are 2.88 cfs and 2.80 cfs, respectively (see the table below).
Holiday Springs Discharge Graph
Water quality
Holiday Springs was sampled by USGS in 1967 and 1972. SJRWMD sampled Holiday Springs 12 times from 1991 to 2001, and Lake County sampled the spring twice in 2004. Summary statistics of the water quality data for selected variables are shown in the table below.
Holiday Springs Water Quality Graph
Summary statistics of water quality and discharge at Holiday Springs
| Holiday Springs | Min | Mean | Median | Max | Count | Period |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discharge, cfs | 0.89 | 2.88 | 2.80 | 4.91 | 96 | 1946–2010 |
| Alkalinity, total, mg/L as CaCO3 | 97.0 | 104.3 | 103.3 | 126.0 | 16 | 1967–2004 |
| Calcium, total, mg/L as Ca | 37.9 | 40.5 | 40.0 | 43.2 | 9 | 1996–2004 |
| Chloride, total, mg/L as Cl | 6.5 | 10.8 | 11.0 | 14.0 | 16 | 1967–2004 |
| Dissolved Oxygen | 1.11 | 1.40 | 1.43 | 1.60 | 6 | 1991–2001 |
| Fluoride, total, mg/L as F | 0.09 | 0.10 | 0.10 | 0.11 | 8 | 1996–2001 |
| Magnesium, total, mg/L as Mg | 6.0 | 6.8 | 6.9 | 7.6 | 10 | 1996–2004 |
| Nitrate + nitrite, total, mg/L as N | 3.10 | 4.02 | 3.92 | 7.18 | 10 | 1996–2004 |
| Orthophosphate, total, mg/L as P | 0.03 | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.06 | 8 | 1996–2001 |
| pH, field | 7.10 | 7.49 | 7.40 | 8.10 | 13 | 1967–2004 |
| Phosphorus, total, mg/L as P | 0.02 | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.09 | 4 | 1991–2001 |
| Sodium, total, mg/L as Na | 5.2 | 5.9 | 6.0 | 6.1 | 10 | 1996–2004 |
| Specific conductance, field, µmhos/cm at 25°C | 270 | 289 | 286 | 316 | 14 | 1991–2004 |
| Specific conductance, lab, µmhos/cm at 25°C | 225 | 260 | 263 | 293 | 3 | 1967–2001 |
| Sulfate, total, mg/L as SO4 | 2.8 | 9.0 | 8.5 | 16.6 | 14 | 1972–2004 |
| Total dissolved solids, mg/L | 129 | 170 | 171 | 200 | 15 | 1967–2004 |
| Water temperature, °C | 23.7 | 24.0 | 23.9 | 25.3 | 16 | 1967–2004 |
mg/L = milligrams per liter
cfs = cubic feet per second
Age of discharge water
The age of water discharging from Holiday Springs was determined by measuring the concentration of carbon-14 and carbon-13 in the spring discharge, which was measured in May 2001. Holiday Springs had a carbon-14 concentration of 34% modern carbon and a delta carbon-13 value of –9.4 parts per thousand. The carbon-14 concentration can result from the reaction of rainfall with calcite, dolomite, and soil organic matter. The age of Holiday Springs discharge is less than 50 years.
