Understanding Sinkholes: Seeing the Water Beyond the Springs

By Peter Lane Taylor
Reporting From Wakulla Springs, Florida

Until recently, the disposal of human waste was governed by a simple, overarching principle: out of sight, out of mind. Earth's abundance of rivers, oceans, and holes in the ground offered early societies a nearly effortless way to make waste disappear.

“If sinkholes are indeed
windows to the aquifer,
we have good reason to be
concerned about the view.”

Today, however, modern science has taught us better. We now know that planet Earth is a sealed system. Nothing we heave out of sight truly disappears, whether it's an old refrigerator dumped into a local stream or a tiny molecule of carbon monoxide released into the atmosphere from our tailpipes. Instead of going out of mind, these wastes remain in the system indefinitely and eventually come back to haunt us. In terms of the sinkholes of Florida, these ghosts have recently re-emerged with a vengeance, threatening not only the water quality of the springs, but also the very water we drink.

Like Florida's springs, sinkholes are rare and spectacular geologic formations, caused most often by the dissolution of the limestone aquifer near the surface or the collapse of an underground cave. Yet, like many things in nature, scientific descriptions cannot do justice to the intrinsic beauty of these unique natural phenomena. Many sinkholes, like Big Dismal sinkhole near Tallahassee, are portals to Florida's primeval past, offering us a brief glimpse of the unsullied wilderness once nourished here.

In terms of the overall health of the aquifer, sinkholes are also vital to water's journey from the sky to the springs. Recent dye-trace and radio telemetry experiments, such as the Rose Sink study near Ichetucknee Springs, have demonstrated that once these windows to the aquifer are open, they often provide direct access to the aquifer through which water flows from the recharge basin to the springs.

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