Boggy Bay

Taylor County, Florida

"Real Florida in Florida's Big Bend"

Boggy Bay is located on the Taylor County coastline and is included in the Big Bend Seagrasses Aquatic Preserve. The bay lies between the beaches of Dekle and Ezell which are approximately 16 miles Southwest of Perry on county road 361. The Bay is a very shallow area of the Gulf of Mexico with a sand and mud bottom that is mostly covered with seagrass. There are at least two significant tidal creeks, Sweet Water creek being the largest that flows into the Bay. These creeks are fed from drainage of natural areas and springs. The brackish waters of the bay make it a perfect spawning ground for many different species including mullet, redfish, sea trout, shrimp and bay scallops. The land bordering the bay is mostly a saltwater marsh made up of Spartina grass. This area of the bay has exceptional habitat for birds, alligators, deer, black bear, otters, and many other native species. A site for the Florida Birding Trail has been nominated on the bay.

 Click here for information on the proposed development of Boggy Bay.

 Click here for a large aerial overview of the area. (This image may take a few minutes to load)

State location map

Click here for a roadmap of the area.

The following image shows that a good majority of the bay actually empties of water during low tide. This creates excellent habitat for birds to feed.

Click here to see hurricane information for the area.

Boggy Bay's largest freshwater feature is Sweet Water Spring and Sweet Water Creek. The following is information on Sweet Water Spring and its outflow feature called a spring run.

Boggy Bay's Sweet Water Spring

The spring is surrounded by private property. The spring is a tributary to Sweet Water Creek. A 6,500 foot long spring run connects the spring to the Sweet Water tidal creek. The boil that is present is approximately 6 feet in diameter. The pool area is approximately 60 feet wide and clumps of iron colored particles were observed near the vent.

 This spring and spring run are a natural waterway tidally connected to the Big Bend Seagrasses Aquatic Preserve. This waterway is under state jurisdiction and anyone can visit this site legally as long as you remain on and in the state jurisdictional land and water.

Location                               

Latitude: 29° 51’ 00.36708” N

Longitude: 83° 36’ 24.01138” W                                    

Datum: WGS84                                                      

Locational Method: DGPS                                           

County: Taylor                                                       

River Basin: Gulf Coastal Big Bend                              

Date Sampled: 12/2/2006

Time Sampled: 14:20 EST

Tide Status: 3.02 high at 12:23 EST and 1.24 Low at 17:41 EST

Moon Phase: 93% Full

Field Analyte Values

Sp. Conductance: 290 microsiemens

pH: 7.23 S.U.

Temperature: 21.53° C

Dissolved Oxygen: 0.16 mg/l (1.70%)

Discharge (cfs): 4.68

Discharge (mgd): 3.025

Magnitude: 3 (at time of measurements)

Seeps

A very small spring or seep is located approximately 15 meters northwest of the Sweet Water Head spring. This seep also had a heavy concentration of iron precipitate. A short run connected it to the pool of Sweet Water spring. This seep is seen just above the main vent in the picture below.

The Spring Run

The spring run has an average depth of one to two feet deep. It contains many fallen trees making it somewhat difficult to navigate. The average width is 5 to 10 meters and the bottom is sandy with organic woody debris.

Other Springs

A small spring was located approximately 110 meters down stream of the head spring. This spring was located on the west bank of the stream and had a low volume flow. It also contained an iron colored precipitate.

Location                               

Latitude: 29° 50’ 57.228” N

Longitude: 83° 36’ 24.693” W

Datum: WGS84                                              

Locational Method: DGPS                                           

County: Taylor                                                

River Basin: Bend Bend

    Gulf Coastal Big

Date Sampled: 12/2/2006

Time Sampled: 13:55 EST

Tide Status: 3.02 high at 12:23 EST

    and 1.24 Low at 17:41 EST

Moon Phase: 93% Full

Field Analyte Values

Sp. Conductance: 300 microsiemens

pH: 7.21 S.U.

Dissolved Oxygen: 0.20 mg/l (2.10%)

Temperature: 21.22° C

Discharge (cfs): not measured

Discharge (mgd): not measured

Magnitude: not measured

Area of Interest

The following image shows bricks that can be seen just beyond the tree line in the spring run. It is unknown if these bricks have any historic significance. In other areas in the marsh one can find logs that have been cut in a fashion that would be used in a log cabin. Several Rebel salt works have been reported in the area.

Aerial views show the spring run outlined in yellow and the springs are represented as red dots in the first image.

Map of the Big Bend Seagrasses Aquatic Preserve

Source: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/COASTAL/sites/bigbend/info.htm

The Big Bend Seagrasses Aquatic Preserve consists mainly of a large, remote, and undeveloped expanse of submerged seagrasses and nearshore marshlands located along some 150 miles of the northeast coast of the Gulf of Mexico where the Florida peninsula joins the panhandle. The preserve boundary encompasses all tidal lands, islands, seagrass beds, shallow banks, and submerged bottoms from the mean high water line extending 9 miles into the Gulf of Mexico. Landward, it includes all natural waterways tidally connected to the preserve to the extent of state jurisdiction.

Numerous estuaries, which nurture a diverse flora and fauna, are formed at the confluence of the many rivers and streams that flow into the preserve. Open waters and submerged bay bottoms of these estuaries support numerous species of commercially and recreationally important fish. The shoreline is dominated by intertidal marsh grasslands, a temperate natural community that is replaced in the tropics my mangroves. Some mangroves occur in the southern reaches of the marshes but are stunted and die back in periodic freezes. 

This website is currently being developed to spark interest in protecting Florida's vital and fragile natural environment. Boggy Bay is part of the Big Bend Seagrasses Aquatic Preserve and is currently threatened to be developed. This website has been created to inform readers of the natural features that currently exist in this area and will be lost forever if the area is allowed to be developed. All information contained within this site is believed to be correct by the author. If you have any information, questions, and/or comments, please e-mail them to biernack@nettally.com.

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