Alafia River Minimum Flows and Levels - Southwest Florida Water ...

River watershed, to the east by the Peace River watershed and to the south by the
Little Manatee River watershed. The river originates from several creeks that form
its two major tributaries, the North and South Prongs. The South Prong drains from
Hookers Prairie, while the North Prong rises in a swampy area just to the north of
Hookers Prairie (Dames and Moore 1975). The Alafia River proper is formed by the
confluence of these two Prongs and flows generally westward into lower
Hillsborough Bay. Based on current land use maps, the estimated watershed area
is roughly 270,000 acres or 422 square miles. Urbanized areas include parts of
Lakeland, Plant City, Mulberry, and the community of Brandon as well as large
expanses of rural and undeveloped farm and mined lands.
Figure 2-1. Map of Alafia River watershed showing USGS gage site locations and locations of
Lithia and Buckhorn Springs.
2-2