FAQ
Why do the lakes rise and fall?
Sand-bottom lakes on the Keystone ridge cycle with rainfall and the aquifer — what buyers should know.
The lakes of the Keystone ridge — Geneva, Brooklyn, Sand Hill, Halfmoon — are sandhill lakes: rain-fed, connected to the Floridan aquifer, and naturally cyclical. Multi-year droughts draw them down; wet cycles refill them. Docks that stand dry in one decade can be underwater the next.
When evaluating lakefront property, look at the parcel's elevation range on the county GIS rather than today's shoreline, and ask the seller for photos across seasons. Santa Fe and Lochloosa, being larger systems, move less dramatically than the ridge lakes.