The muck is most likely Sulphur and decayed organic material. So get some white vinegar by the 55gal drum and start spraying it. Replace anything rubber. If you start seeing it turn color or change texture on you. Last, leave the f@cking doubles at home for recon dives.How much actual physical damage to gear is yet to be assessed. I suspect, and hope, more stench than actual damage. The water itself didn't smell particularly bad to me today--unlike during my first visit and scope a few weeks ago--so perhaps my sinus wasn't as clear today.
What really surprised me--and not in a good way-- is that the white-floored, shallow 1ft deep area surrounding the deeper spring hole does not have a solid floor as I previously thought. I took one step out with 100 lbs of steel back plate and twin set and sunk past my knee into black silty muck. And then the smell really hit.
After the disappointing shock wore off I realized I'd have to change tactics. I fully inflated my wing and dry suit and After a minute of wrestling my leg free from the black muck I decided I'd try floating out on my back. After kicking up a lot of that silt I realize that the tanks were dragging too much and switched to my belly, And finally made it into the deep area... And that's when I realized I didn't have either of my lights on my person(I always forget something critical. Last time it was the fins). Alligator crawled my way back toward the shore, flopped myself through the muck, trying not to get both arms stuck in the mud as I transition to solid shore line, grab the lights and then did it all again.
Back in the deep area, this time with all my gear, I had now stirred up a considerable amount of mucky silt. I gradually descended to 20 ft while swimming the perimeter of the circular drop off. It went deeper according to a water quality study it goes to at least 33 ft.
No real issues underwater other than realizing that when I am diving solo(now for the second time) I have no courage whatsoever. This really surprises me, because I usually pride myself on my ability to multi-day hike, camp, and dry cave alone without issue. Anyway, after less than 10 nerve-racking minutes of staring at the dark hole that went deeper than I was willing to go alone I decided that I don't really care what's down there after all. I surfaced and gathered up my stinky gear in my roll cart and started trudging the good mile back to the parking area.
Still attempting to clean the smell off of gear and am hopeful there will be no lasting damage.
Now that I'm back safe in my cozy Hobbit hole my previous cowardice is nowhere to be seen and I find myself wondering what really is down there at the bottom of that stink hole.
Another question is what is all that muck doing there. I generally think of freshwater springs as flushing themselves clean of fine silt to expose solid rock along calcite deposits, which is what the white-floored shallow area at first appeared to me to be.
All other water channels in the area are frozen solid but the spring pool itself remains 55° year-round and both times I've gone out there there's been a plethora of birds(Canada geese, mute swans, various ducks, etc) enjoying a swim in that relatively warmer water.
My leading theory is that the muck is thousands of years of bird droppings that can't fully decompose in the cold, deoxygenated spring water.
Maybe somebody with a underwater drone can take it down there and check it out. I don't want to have to go through this again. I did take some video. Will post a link when I get it uploaded.
Get the reg serviced and if you're diving yoke, change the o rings. Then it's should be OK. There's a guy around this forum that does the Detroit River. Maybe he'll reach out.
