flsprings.com | Florida Springs

W.W. Gay Spring is a 5th magnitude spring also referred to as Camp Echockotee Spring. The spring issues from the surficial aquifer system. Sand boils are situated in a small ravine eroded into a wooded hillside on the northwest portion of Camp Echockotee, with some additional water seepage from the banks of the hillsides around the boils. Mats of orange iron bacteria are common in the spring pool and run. Water also seeps from the hillside about 100 feet to the southeast of the head of the ravine. The spring run flows under a wooden bridge toward the southeast for about 0.3 mile to Doctors Lake.

Spring No. 1 has a diameter of 12.0 ft (3.7 m). It is surrounded by a wooden platform which has stairs going down into the spring pool. The spring reaches depths of 3.0 ft (0.9 m). No boil was present on the spring surface during the March 2003 visit. At the time of visit, the spring pool was covered in duckweed, preventing observation of the spring bottom. The spring water is clear. Water exits the spring pool through a pipe that drains into lowlands to the southeast toward Doctor’s Lake. The spring run disappears into lowlands to the southeast. The ravine corridor stretches southeast approximately 0.3 miles (0.5 km) toward Doctor’s Lake. A wooden shelter and fire pit utilized by the Lake Echokotee Boy Scout Camp are located approximately 50 ft (15.2 m) northeast of the spring pool. High ground surrounds the spring and rises to about 10 ft (3.1 m). An additional spring, known as W.W. Gay Spring No.2, is located about 100 ft (30.5 m) west of W.W. Gay Spring No. 1. The springs are within a heavily wooded area.

Spring No. 2 discharges from a wooded hillside. The spring is composed of three small vents: two sand boils and one trickling seep. Limestone is exposed around the vents. Clear water issues prominently from both sand boils. The spring run is about 4.0 ft (1.2 m) wide and flows southeast approximately 50 ft (15.2 m) towards Doctor’s Lake through a ravine corridor before disappearing into the adjacent floodplain. The lake is approximately 0.3 miles (0.5 km) to the southeast of the spring. The bottom of the spring run is sand with thick mats of orange iron-reducing bacteria. A drainage canal introduces runoff into the spring run. High ground on the west side of the spring gently slopes to about 6.0 ft (1.8 m) above the spring level. Spring No. 1 is located 100 ft to the east. The surrounding land is heavily wooded.