Guide

Is my property in a spring Priority Focus Area? The five-minute check

Written for Citrus and Hernando County parcels. Verified against primary sources as of 2026-07-18.

The direct answer: you find out from two primary sources, in this order: the Florida DEP's Priority Focus Area mapping (reachable from floridadep.gov/springs), then a confirming call to your county health department, DOH-Citrus at (352) 513-6100 or DOH-Hernando at (352) 540-6800. Nothing else, including this website, a neighbor, a listing agent, or a contractor's assumption, is an authority on your parcel.

Why the answer is worth five minutes

Since December 15, 2025, a permit application to repair or modify a septic system on a Priority Focus Area parcel in either county must include an enhanced nitrogen-reducing design, per the DOH-Citrus (2025-10-09) and DOH-Hernando (2025-10-10) notices. That is the difference between a conventional drainfield replacement band and the ENR band, commonly a five-figure swing. The zones cover the springsheds of Kings Bay, Homosassa / Chassahowitzka, and Weeki Wachee, hugging the coastal west of both counties; much of eastern Citrus and the Brooksville Ridge sits outside. Town names only set probabilities; the town-by-town likelihood table shows those, and the parcel decides.

Step 1: the DEP map

Start at the Florida DEP springs pages (floridadep.gov/springs) and open the Basin Management Action Plan / Priority Focus Area mapping for your springshed: Crystal River / Kings Bay or Homosassa / Chassahowitzka for Citrus parcels, Weeki Wachee for Hernando parcels.
Search your address, then zoom until you can see your parcel's boundary lines, not just the address pin. Boundaries run between neighbors; the pin can sit on the wrong side of a line the parcel actually straddles.
Screenshot what you see, with the map legend visible. That image is useful in every later conversation.

Step 2: the county confirmation

The county health department applies the rule, so its read is the one that governs your permit. Call with your parcel number (from your property-tax bill or the county property appraiser's site; it answers faster than an address):

Citrus County: Florida Department of Health in Citrus County, Environmental Public Health, (352) 513-6100 (onsite sewage page).
Hernando County: Florida Department of Health in Hernando County, Environmental Health, Brooksville office, (352) 540-6800.

Ask three questions and write the answers down with the date:

Is parcel [number] inside a spring Priority Focus Area?
If yes, what would a repair or modification permit on it require today?
Is central sewer planned to reach this parcel within five years? (If yes, the ENR requirement can be waived under FS 373.807, which changes the whole project; Spring Hill's septic-to-sewer areas are the live example.)

Reading your result

Inside a PFA: nothing is due today; a working system stays in service. The mandate attaches when you file a covered permit. Plan future work through the mandate guide and the ENR upgrade page.
Outside every PFA: conventional permitting applies through the same county office. Keep the dated notes; they are useful at resale when a buyer's agent asks.
Straddling or unclear: let the county's written answer govern, and hand the question to the contractor designing the project; it is a routine part of permitting and soil evaluation.

One map habit worth keeping

Whatever your result, re-check before any future permit. BMAPs get updated on milestone cycles and boundaries can be refined, so a parcel's status is a dated fact, not a permanent one. The check costs five minutes; stale certainty costs redesigns.