Linking Land andWater Planning10-YEAR WATER SUPPLY FACILITY WORK PLANS

S O U T H F L O R I D A W A T E R M A N A G E M E N T D I S T R I C T

OCTOBER 2005

New 2005 LegislationWith freshwater demands increasing to meetthe needs of a booming population, the 2005Florida Legislature strengthened thecoordination of water supply and land useplanning in Senate Bills 360 and 444. For the first time, a direct statutory linkage wascreated between the state’s five watermanagement districts’ regional water supplyplans and local government comprehensiveplans throughout the state.

Local governments are encouraged to assistwater management districts in thedevelopment of regional water supply plans,including proposed inclusions of specific,locally preferred alternative water supplyprojects into the plans. Subsequent selection bya local government of an alternative watersupply project listed in the resulting regionalwater supply plan is eligible for state anddistrict funding, and provides a new degree ofplanning consistency between the developmentof water management district plans and localgovernment comprehensive plans.

Each local government is to now include, inits comprehensive plan’s potable waterelement, a minimum 10-year work plan forbuilding all public, private and regional watersupply facilities necessary to serve existingand new development within its jurisdiction.Building upon the water managementdistrict’s regional water supply plan efforts,these local government 10-year water supplyfacility work plans must project future watersupply demands, identify the water supplysources available to meet those demands andidentify all water supply projects that need tobe constructed. They will also include theschedules for permitting, constructing andoperating all needed public, private and

regional water supply facilities within thelocal government’s jurisdiction.

Other associated comprehensive planamendments include:

(1) POTABLE WATER ELEMENT: Theidentification of the alternative watersupply project or projects selected from theregional water supply plan, any traditionalwater supply projects to be undertakenand the conservation and reuse programsthat local governments will implement tomeet projected demands.

(2) CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS ELEMENT: Anynecessary amendments to the localgovernment’s comprehensive plan five yearschedule of capital improvements to buildlocal government water supply facilities.

What arealternativewatersupplies?These are non-traditionalsources ofpublic watersupply. In thenew law theseinclude suchsources as

brackish surface and groundwater; reclaimedwater; surface water captured predominatelyduring wet-weather flows in reservoirs oraquifer storage and recovery systems;saltwater and other sources made availablethrough the addition of new storage capacityfor surface or groundwater.

The South Florida WaterManagement Districtis a regional, governmentalagency that oversees thewater resources in thesouthern half of the state. Itis the oldest and largest ofthe state’s five watermanagement districts.

Our Mission is to manageand protect water resourcesof the region by balancingand improving waterquality, flood control,natural systems, and watersupply.

Reverse Osmosis (RO)membranes can treat waterfrom a variety of sources,including the nanofiltration offresh groundwater, brackishwater and even seawater.

SERVICE CENTERS

Big Cypress Basin/Naples239-597-1505Broward954-713-3200Florida Keys (Plantation Key)305-853-3219 or 800-464-5067Lower West Coast239-338-2929 or 800-248-1201

South Florida Water Management District 3301 Gun Club Road West Palm Beach, Florida 33406 561-686-8800 • FL WATS 800-432-2045 www.sfwmd.gov

MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 24680 West Palm Beach, FL 33416-4680

Martin/St. Lucie772-223-2600 or 800-250-4100Miami-Dade305-377-7274 or 800-250-4300Okeechobee863-462-5260 or 800-250-4200Orlando407-858-6100 or 800-250-4250Palm Beach County800-432-2045

CT100705

LINKING LAND AND WATER PLANNING

When are the work plans due?All local governments within the South Florida Water ManagementDistrict (SFWMD) must prepare and adopt a minimum 10-yearwater supply facility work plan into their comprehensive planswithin 18 months following the approval of an update to anexisting regional water supply plan by the SFWMD governingboard (except for local governments located within the WekivaRiver Study Area, which have a new December 1, 2006 deadline).The SFWMD regional water supply plan updates are all currentlyscheduled to be approved during fiscal year 2006. This wouldmean that local government 10-year water supply facility workplans, and related amendments, would need to be incorporatedinto comprehensive plans during 2007 or early 2008. Theamendments are exempt from the normal twice-a-year restrictionon comprehensive plan amendments.

Where can I get help withthis effort?The Department of CommunityAffairs (DCA) is planning a set ofgrowth management workshopsduring the fall of 2005 to discussthe new growth managementlegislation in each regionalplanning council area.

During 2006, after the approval ofeach SFWMD regional watersupply plan, DCA and SFWMDare planning to hold regionalwater supply plan workshops ineach of the four regions covered

by the plans. The purpose of these workshops will be to explainthe new water supply requirements, identify what information willbe needed and is available in the regional water supply plans toaddress these requirements, and discuss what comprehensive planamendments will be required. Local government planners, utilitiesand water supply representatives will be invited to theseworkshops and will be given an opportunity to discuss thepotential problems local governments and their water suppliersforesee in meeting these requirements.

SFWMD is working withDCA, Florida’s other fourwater managementdistricts and theDepartment ofEnvironmental Protectionin preparing a technicalassistance document thatwill include guidelines forpreparing comprehensiveplan amendments inresponse to these new 10-year water supply facilitywork plan requirements.

These informal guidelines will assist local governments in thepreparation of their 10-year water supply facility work plans. Theseguidelines address how to prepare the work plan, whatinformation to include and when to adopt the work plan.

Once prepared, the new guidelines will be found on the DCA WaterSupply Planning web page:

(http://www.dca.state.fl.us/fdcp/dcp/WaterSupplyPlanning/index.cfm)

and the South Florida Water Management District’s Evaluation &Appraisal Report (EAR) & 10-year work plan technical assistanceweb page:

(www.sfwmd.gov/org/wsd/ear/index.html).

These web sites also provide an abundance of general andtechnical information regarding the new legislation, new fundingavailable from water management districts for alternative watersupply development, regional water supply plans and the 10-yearwater supply facility work plans. Additionally, both agencies havedesignated specific agency staff to assist local governments withthese efforts:

Department of Community AffairsBob Dennis (850) 922-1765

bob.dennis@dca.state.fl.us

South Florida Water Management DistrictHenry Bittaker (561) 682-6792

hbittak@sfwmd.gov

Contact lists for assistance from the other four water managementdistricts can be found on the DCA Water Supply Planning web page:

http://www.dca.state.fl.us/fdcp/dcp/WaterSupplyPlanning/index.cfm

Wastewater reclamationfacilities can be convenientlyadded to existing treatment sitesto provide an additional waterresource to growing cities.

Distinctive “purple pipes” identifyreclaimed water lines for irrigation use and other purposes not requiringdrinking water.