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Someone had asked me in email about the WKPP, and this is a copy of my reply just in case you don't know by now. ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- From: Self <CONDOR/KEN> To: Subject: Re: WKPP Date sent: Mon, 26 Feb 1996 07:55:06 > Date sent: Sat, 24 Feb 1996 15:47:04 -0800 > From: > Subject: WKPP > To: kens@uf*.ed* > Hello Ken - > > I enjoyed the Cave Divers Corner on the net. As a PADI instructor and > neophyte to caving, I am very inpressed with all the info contained on > the page. One question however, where can i find more info on the > Woodville Karst Plain Project? I have never heard of this before, and > since have seen it mentioned several times. I tried accessing the > unofficial home page through the Cave Divers Corner, to no avail. Your > assistance would be greatly appreciated. Keep up the great work! > > Sincerely, Hi , Sorry about that. I started working on it, then other duties kept me from continuing. I'm currently waiting on some photographs from Bill Mee for the page. However, what sort of information would you like on the WKPP? What I can tell you is probably stuff you've already heard. The WKPP is a group of 70 divers exploring the Woodville Karst Plain in Tallahassee, Fl. 20 of these explorers are gas divers who regularly do exploration/research dives to 300' for extended period of times. The remaining work in other ways, shallow exploration, surface support, in-water support, setup divers, etc. We have very strict guidelines on how a person should have their gear configured, and their physical/mental attitude. This has caused a lot of debate in the cave diving community because some people tout "Personal Preference" as opposed to our methods, and say we should let them dive with us because of their experience level. However, our charters are with the state of Florida, and we have to meet these requirements. As for physical conditioning, the main concern is cardiovascular fitness. If a person is mildley obese, yet is cardiovascularly fit, then that's fine. Members of the WKPP have pushed exploration on open circuit SCUBA way past what people thought were the limits. In 1987 the "Wakulla" project pushed "B Tunnel" in Wakulla springs (average depth 280' contrary to what they claimed at the time unless a freak geologic accident caused it to go 20' shallower in the last 6 years) to 4100'. At that time they claimed they couldn't go any further without the use of rebreathers. It required each team member 1000ft3 of gas to accomplish those dives. Last year WKPP pushed B tunnel to a distance of 6500' from the nearest exit. It was done on a 5 stage dive, in otherwords the divers only carried 600ft3 of gas to go 2400' further. The 6500' took exactly 1 more minute then the 1987 teams 4100' drive. Bottom time runs 100 minutes at 300' for those dives. We are currently doing setup dives beyond the old end of the line. The 1987 team also only pushed "A" tunnel to a distance of about 1800'. Our divers three years ago pushed "A" tunnel 6400' from the exit. However we are doing more then just Wakulla. In 1995 we discovered that a piece of property that a person was developing into a gas station sat directly over the feeder aquifer for Sally Ward sink. This is a major source of fresh water in the area. The WKPP was able to map the aquifer beneath this persons property and convince the county commisioners to block the construction of this gas station, thereby preserving and protecting this water source. We are also working on linking the entire Leon Sinks system together, locating the source of "dirty water" that has been polluting it for the past two years, and correcting the problem. If you have any other questions, let me know. Ken
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