The UF Clean Water Campaign aims to build awareness of water quality issues and solutions on the University of Florida campus.

We work together with administration, students, faculty and staff to reduce pollution in campus waterbodies through the following activities: water quality monitoring, storm drain marking, community outreach, implementing pollution reduction strategies and more.

Check out the UF Wetlands Portal for more information on campus wetlands and wetlands research at the University of Florida.

Our watershed

Watersheds are regions of land that drain into a specified body of water, such as a river, lake, sea, or ocean. Rain that falls anywhere within a given body of water’s watershed will eventually drain into that body of water. These come in many different sizes: a few acres might drain into a small stream or wetland; a few large rivers might drain into an estuary where salt water and fresh water mix. From a large-scale watershed perspective, Gainesville lies on the border of the Santa Fe and Ocklawaha watersheds. See the map (top; right column) to view Florida’s major watershed boundaries. On a smaller scale, Gainesville is home to 10 sub-watersheds, including the Lake Alice watershed, which contains most of the University of Florida campus. More than 60 percent of campus is contained within the Lake Alice watershed. Outskirt areas on campus drain into Tumblin Creek and Hogtown Creek. Some parts of campus are internally drained, emptying into sink holes or depression areas that move surface water directly into the aquifer below.

• 1,850 acres on main Gainesville campus

• 40% of that is impervious surface that water cannot penetrate* (including 900 buildings, sidewalks, streets, and parking lots)
• 60% is unpaved (including 400 acres set aside as conservation areas, green space, passive and active recreation areas, and landscaping around buildings)

*All impervious surfaces drain stormwater into the stormwater sewer system which conveys through culverts, creeks and ponds that all terminate in campus waterbodies, thus increasing the amount of water that would naturally drain to waterbodies.

Lake Alice and the interconnected creeks, ponds, and wetlands that feed into it are vital natural resources that not only serve as defining features of the University of Florida campus landscape, but also as a critical role in the University of Florida’s stormwater system. The protection of these natural resources is a cornerstone of the University’s commitment to responsible environmental stewardship supporting campus safety, infrastructure functionality, and the long-term protection of these natural resources. Current conditions indicate that the stormwater system is operating at roughly 40 percent of the ecological performance expected of a healthy wetland—reinforcing the need for comprehensive corrective action.

The Lake Alice Watershed Management Plan establishes a comprehensive framework for the restoration and protection of the Lake Alice watershed. The plan outlines recommendations to address aging stormwater infrastructure, erosion, water quality, and habitat degradation while guiding both short and long-term management strategies for this natural feature. By aligning ecological restoration with critical infrastructure rehabilitation, the projects identified in this plan will not only restore ecological function to our campus landscape, but also support a safe, functional, and vibrant campus environment for generations to come.  UF is moving forward with several critical projects at Graham Woods and Jennings Creek which represent a proactive investment in our campus safety, environmental restoration, and long-term resilience of the University of Florida’s stormwater system.

The actions of people who live in a watershed affect the health of the waters that drain through it. Whenever rain falls on land, chemicals, fertilizers, sediment and other pollutants from the land are washed into the watershed’s creeks, streams, wetlands and rivers, potentially all the waters along its path.

How can we support our watershed? Prevent illicit discharges

An illicit discharge is any substance other than storm water (rain or snow melt) that enters a municipal storm sewer system or waterway. You can help prevent illicit discharges by:

• disposing of trash in appropriate receptacles
• properly maintaining your vehicle to eliminate issues such as oil leaks, transmission fluid or radiator fluid
• wash cars at commercial car washes
• do not pour substances such as grease into storm drains

Illicit discharges can be reported by either calling our Work Management Center or using our pollution reporting form.