Each picnic pavillion is set on a concrete pad surrounded with small stones so that water running off the roof drains down into the ground instead of running downhill. The paths do that too.
This is water management. The main entrance road stablizes the soil. After the paved road to the parking lot and concrete sidewalks to the main areas, stormwater runoff is diverted down into the ground by several strategies. Almost everything on the ground is permeable or raised. William Cleckley, Director of the NWFlorida Water Management Lands Division, answered my quetions about the materials used on the surfaces.
The parking lot surface is somewhat permeable, but not completely. Runoff flows into the stormwater pond which traps sediments. Before restoration, sediments went right into the spring. The stones are not special in any way.
The spring entrance steps are stones that were custom-cast for this project. The manufacturer mixed shell into the cast mixture to simulate limestone.
The patio deck pavers were also selected due to their shell content. We were trying to tell the Floridan Aquifer story.
Shell embedded in one of the large boulders surrounding the deck reminds us that long ago, this whole area was under sea water, part of the ocean. .
Drainage stones likely came from limestone quarries in the area, especially in Jackson County near Marianna.
The large limestone boulders have several functions. First, they help stabilize and protect the restored spring shoreline. Second, they have aesthetics. Third, they serve as resting areas for users to lean against. They are becoming quite popular for jumping off of by children and young adults, but that was not the original intent and users do that at their own risk. The rocks came from a Jackson County quarry, same as Pitt Spring.
Raised boat dock, trash can and boardwalks
Back to Williford Spring 2016
