Santa Fe’s idle-speed, no-wake zone deactivated

Media contact: Karen Parker, 386-754-1294 Release Date: 03-23-2020 All Articles Tags:

Boating Safety Law Enforcement

The Santa Fe River’s idle-speed, no-wake Zone 8 was deactivated today, March 23. There are now no active zones on the Santa Fe or Suwannee, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officials.

Zone 8 activated March 18 when the gauge at Three Rivers reached 16.25 feet, which is the activation point. Today, the level was at 15.69 feet. This zone begins at an unnamed island approximately 4.25 miles upstream from the confluence of the Santa Fe and Ichetucknee rivers (coordinates: 29° 54.527’ N, 82° 46.074’ W) and ends at the confluence of the Suwannee and Santa Fe rivers. This includes the Ichetucknee River upstream to the U.S. 27 Bridge.

An idle-speed, no-wake zone means a vessel must proceed at a speed no greater than required to maintain steerageway and headway. At no time is any vessel required to proceed so slowly the operator is unable to control it or anything it may be towing.

No zones on the Santa Fe River are activated at this time. The other zones are:

Zone 5: From the Santa Fe River at the River Rise in O’Leno State Park downstream to the center line of the U.S. 27 Bridge when the river is 35 feet or higher on the High Springs gauge.
Zone 6: From the centerline of the U.S. 27 Bridge downstream to .5 mile upstream from the State Road 47 Bridge when the river is 24 feet or higher on the Fort White gauge.
Zone 7: This zone runs from .5 mile upstream from the State Road 47 Bridge, downstream to an unnamed island at 29° 54.527’ N, 82° 46.074’ W. It becomes an idle-speed, no-wake zone when the Three Rivers gauge reaches 5 feet.

No zones on the Suwannee River are activated at this time. The zones are:

Zone 1: Runs from the U.S. 90 Bridge at Ellaville south to the State Road 51 Bridge at Luraville. This 39-mile segment becomes an idle-speed, no-wake zone when the Suwannee River reaches 47 feet at the Ellaville gauge.
Zone 2: From the State Road 51 Bridge at Luraville to Little River Spring. This 18-mile segment becomes an idle-speed, no-wake zone when the Suwannee River reaches 26 feet or more at the Branford gauge, where flood stage is 29 feet.
Zone 3: From Little River Spring to the County Road 340 Bridge at Rock Bluff. This 23-mile segment becomes an idle-speed, no-wake zone when the Suwannee River reaches 24 feet at the Branford gauge.
Zone 4: From the centerline of the County Road 340 Bridge at Rock Bluff to approximately 300 feet southwest of New Clay Landing Boat Ramp, from approximately 6,000 feet north of Camp Azalea Boat Ramp to approximately 1,300 feet south of Yellow Jacket Landing, and from approximately 2,000 feet northeast of Fowler’s Bluff Boat Ramp to approximately 1 mile southwest of Fowler’s Bluff Boat Ramp when the river level is 9 feet or higher on the Wilcox gauge.

For more information about the flood zones, call 386-758-0525. To report violations, call 888-404-3922.

To obtain real-time river levels, visit MySuwanneeRiver.com.