FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY


channel storage during periods of low water to be used for boating. Most of the streams have sufficient flow to be a potential water supply. During periods of miumflows there is more than 10 times as much fresh water flowing into the bays than is being withdrawn from all sources in the Panama City area.
    Streaniflow in the basin comes from several sources. During and immediately following rains water flows directly into the streams as overland flow. Between rains the streams receive only water that seeps from the shallow sands and from artesian spring flow from the limestone formations. Every stream receives seepage from the shallow sands.
    Streamflow to the bays is at an average rate of about 960 mgd which amounts to 40 percent of the average rainfall. About 650 mgd flows through Deer Point Lake into North Bay from Econfina Creek, Bear Creek, Big Cedar Creek, and Bayou George Creek. Another 30 mgd flows into North Bay below Deer Point Dam from smaller streams.- West Bay receives a flow of about 70 mgd from Burnt Mill Creek, Big Crooked Creek and smaller tributaries. East Bay gets about 210 mgd from Wetappo Creek, Sandy Creek, Calloway Creek, and smaller streams.
    Figure 2 shows values of runoff from areas within the Econfina Creek basin. It can be seen from this map that the physiographic features affect runoff. The low runoff in the southern half of the basin results from the poor drainage of the flat-woods forest. Drainage in the sinks and lakes division is mostly internal and there is almost no surface runoff. High base flow due to seepage from the porous sands causes the high runoff in the sand hills division. The extremely high runoff of 90 inches from the lower half of Econfina Creek is a result of the artesian spring flow.


           TABLE 1. Drainage areas, average flows, and low flows
               of subbasins within the Econfina Creek basin.

                          Drainage area     Average flow      Low flow
   Creek basin               sq. ni.           nxgd            rngd


Econfina C   rek----e------------------ -- 129 355
Bear Cr       ee-------------k---------- . 128 226
W etappo Creek -----------_---------_ 78
Sandy Creek - ------ --_-------- 60            70
Bayou George Creek ------------51              26
Burnt MMllCreek - --------------- 45           23
Big Crooked Creek --------_------------ 22     17
Big Cedar Creek -------- ----------------- 62  12
Calloway Creek -------------- --- 13            9
All others.--------------------.-- ---        142


226 52.
6 10
3
8
  6
  4 .6