Springstead Creek is a tributary of Hogtown Creek. The creek starts just west of Rawlings Elementary School. It flows past Stephen Foster Elementary and the Creekside, Mariam Manor, and Pine Haven neighborhoods before joining Hogtown Creek. The creek drains an area that includes a superfund site. Run-off has polluted this stream and has damaged the natural ecosystem.

Do you live near Springstead Creek? Here’s what you can do to keep your water clean and the creek healthy:

Remember that all of our creeks, one way or another, make their way to the aquifer from which we get our drinking water. The fact that the creeks eventually make their way into the giant “well” from which we draw our drinking water supply is a good reason, among many, to protect them. Increased impervious area and decreased riparian buffers lead to more runoff going into the creeks during storm events. Runoff from yards and driveways carries pollutants like automobile fluids and wastes, detergents, fertilizers, pesticides, household chemicals, pet wastes, and plain trash down the stormdrains into the creeks. Even organic yard wastes – leaves, cuttings and landscape detritus - can overload the creek system. If you ever wondered where those storm drains actually drain to, the creek is your answer. In Gainesville, the runoff can carry considerable pollution into our treasured waterways, and it does.

You can help - keep pollutants off the streets; change your oil and dispose of it sensibly, keep up the maintenance on your vehicles to prevent leaks, use pesticides and fertilizers minimally if at all, dispose of pet waste hygienically, and put trash where it belongs! If you prevent pollution from entering the aquifer, you will be doing your part to protect the health of your community.

If you live on a creek, you can maintain a healthy riparian buffer with native landscaping to effectively filter pollutants from the roadways. To learn more about how to do this, contact the Restore-A-Shore program. You can sign up for a creek cleanup with Adopt-A-Waterway, or participate in our Watershed Action Volunteers program teaching kids about watersheds, or learn to landscape a Florida Friendly Yard. All of these efforts will help to protect the creeks from pollution.

Springstead Creek, Gainesville, Florida