HERNANDO COUNTY, Fla. — The Weeki Wachee River, a beloved Florida gem, continues to lose some of its luster.
Mary Ann Johnson, the vice president of the Weeki Wachee River Rescue Team, has seen it happen over the past half-decade.
The once luscious banks along the crystal clear, spring-fed river continue to erode. Trees are being undermined, and eel grass on the river bottom is being trampled.
“Those are not healthy things,” Johnson said.
That’s not just her opinion.
A 2020 study by the Southwest Florida Water Management District reached the same conclusion: human recreation impacts the river’s health over time.
So, in summer 2023, at Hernando County’s request, the state approved new rules for the Weeki Wachee. Multiple miles of the river were deemed a Spring Protection Zone. As a result, boaters and paddlers can no longer anchor their boats, tie them to trees, and beach them on the riverbanks.
“We want people to come and have fun,” said Johnson. “We want people to, you know, be involved. You know, swim and enjoy it. But you don’t have to beach your vessel.”
However, almost two years later, Johnson and others say some visitors aren’t consistently following the rules. They also say the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office isn’t doing enough to enforce the rules.
“If you put it out there and enforce something, the word spreads faster,” Johnson said.
She and other river advocates were alarmed by data recently shared by Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis on Facebook.
According to the data, from January 2025 through April 2025, just six citations were issued for violations of the new Spring Protection Zone rules, and just 30 warnings were issued.
“I wasn’t angry, but I was shocked and disappointed,” said Johnson.
Johnson believes the sheriff’s office does have the manpower to enforce the rules, but she’s not sure it has the desire to do so.
“I think it’s just people that come, and they don’t really want to follow the rules, and if we don’t have any teeth in the rules that we have, then we just keep attracting the same type of people that don’t want to follow the rules,” she said.
Friday, the sheriff’s office seemed to respond to the scrutiny with a post on Facebook. It warned the rules are in place, and violators could face $140 fines.
Johnson hopes more enforcement will be noticed on the Weeki Wachee River soon.
“Step it up,” she said.
Commissioner John Allocco, who represents the Weeki Wachee area, said he spoke with the sheriff’s office about the scarcity of citations. Based on that conversation, Allocco believes enforcement along the river will increase immediately.
In a statement, the Hernando County Sheriff's Office responded to questions about the enforcement statistics:
"Since the law passed a little over a year ago, the HCSO has primarily focused on educating the public when it comes to the enforcement of the Weeki Wachee Springs Protection Zone.
Most people using the river are not intentionally violating the act, which in itself is a very polarizing issue (as evidenced by comments on our Facebook post).
The winter into early spring sees a decline in river usage due to the colder temperatures, which in turn leads to fewer violations.
For example, the HCSO had numerous resources assigned to the Weeki Wachee River for Spring Break, but the weather was unseasonably cold and led to an extremely low number of people using the river that particular week.
The HCSO will continue to assist FWC in monitoring the marine environment in Hernando County through education and enforcement."
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