District officials seem unable to say “no” to developers, farmers, water bottlers and anyone else who seeks a permit to pump groundwater, despite the reduced flows being caused as a result in the region’s rivers and springs. For example, the High Springs-based Florida Springs Institute has found that excessive groundwater pumping has reduced the Santa Fe River's flow by about 28%. Now, to add insult to injury, district officials are suggesting that hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars be spent restoring those flows. The money would be used to build a pipeline bringing water from the Suwannee River to recharge the groundwater that flows through Ichetucknee Springs and eventually into the Santa Fe.