Skip to Content Skip to Main Menu Skip to Global Menu
Colclough Lake Colclough Lake
Home Citizen Services Residents Businesses Visitors Emergency Services County Offices
You are here: Home > County Offices > Communications Office > Details
divider

Communications Office - Media Releases

CONTACT: Mark Sexton, Communications Coordinator
PHONE: (352) 374-5204; CELL: (352) 283-2317
EMAIL: msexton@alachuacounty.us

For Immediate Release



Dangerous Conditions on the Santa Fe River

6/29/2012 11:05 AM

ALACHUA COUNTY, FL – Due to dangerous water conditions resulting from the recent tropical storm, the Alachua County Environmental Protection Department is advising people to temporarily avoid swimming, tubing, canoeing, or kayaking in the portion of the upper Santa Fe River bordering northwest Alachua County west of Interstate 75.

"I can't stress enough the need for people to be aware of the dangerous conditions”, said Chris Bird, Alachua County Environmental Protection Director. “The river poses hidden environmental hazards, including strong currents and submerged trees and other debris that can cause entrapment, serious injury, or drowning."

In addition, Bird warns that the river's high flow conditions, combined with low groundwater levels from the drought, are creating powerful, hidden siphons that can drown even a strong swimmer by pulling them through underwater cavities in the bottom of the river.

These unusually dangerous conditions in the upper Santa Fe River are expected to persist for 7-10 days until the river levels are projected to subside.  Flood and water level updates are available from the Suwannee River Water Management District website at www.mysuwanneeriver.com 

For more information, contact Chris Bird at 352-264-6801.

If any accommodations are needed for persons with disabilities, please contact the Equal Opportunity Office at (352) 374-5275 or (352) 374-5284 TDD.

If you have a disability and need an accommodation in order to participate in a County program, service or public meeting, please contact the Alachua County Equal Opportunity Office at (352)374-5275 at least 3 business days prior to the event. TTY users please call 711 (Florida Relay Service).

-30-

This website is a public service. Please read the Legal Disclaimer. Website designed and engineered by Alachua County ITS.Applications Division Version 2010 (v1.0)

Under Florida law (Statute 119.011), all information, including e-mail, written letters, documents and phone messages, sent to the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners is subject to Public Records law. This includes the sender's e-mail address, home address or phone number if shown in the message, the content of the message and any associated attachments to the mail. Also please be aware that electronic correspondence (e-mail) is made available on the Commission's public archive site immediately upon being sent. Instead, contact Alachua County Offices by phone or in writing.