Regional Water Supply Plan
Rock Springs in Orange County is one place where groundwater escapes from the aquifer system.
The Floridan aquifer system has historically supplied the vast majority of the water used in the central Florida area. The St. Johns River Water Management District, South Florida Water Management District and Southwest Florida Water Management District are studying whether the Floridan aquifer system is reaching its sustainable limits of use and exploring the need to develop supplemental sources of water.
The three water management districts, along with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS), regional public water supply utilities and other stakeholders are working to develop a unified water supply plan for central Florida as part of the Central Florida Water Initiative (CFWI). The initiative area includes southern Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Polk counties.
The CFWI is working to provide a uniform approach for water management in a region where the boundaries of three districts come together and where water withdrawals in one district may impact water resources and water users throughout the area.
Plan development
The regional water supply plan will ensure the protection of water resources and related natural systems and identify sustainable water supplies for all water uses in the coordination area through 2040.
Several technical teams worked collaboratively to build a strong scientific foundation of knowledge upon which the regional water supply plan will be developed. The technical analysis includes:
Lake Eola Park is a scenic vista in Orlando’s skyline.
- Developing planning-level estimates of groundwater availability
- Ensuring the most appropriate science is applied to modeling and data analysis
- Performing environmental assessments of wetlands and surface waters
- Developing options for consistent processes to set and implement minimum flows and levels and water reservation criteria for priority water bodies
- Ensuring that available hydrologic, environmental and other pertinent data is identified, inventoried and accessible
Team members working on the water supply plan are focusing their efforts on:
- Developing population and water demand projections
- Ensuring consistent utilization of resource evaluation criteria
- Developing a water conservation component for the plan
- Evaluating water sources
- Identifying and analyzing water supply development and water resource development project options
Regional Water Supply Plan
The work of the Central Florida Water Initiative (CFWI) is captured in a series of final Regional Water Supply Plan documents. The final documents are located below. The final documents were approved by the three respective Water Management District Governing Boards in November of 2020.
A public comments and responses document is posted below the plan documents.
2020 Regional Water Supply Plan
- Final 2020 CFWI Regional Water Supply Plan
- Final 2020 CFWI Regional Water Supply Plan Appendices
- Final 2020 CFWI Regional Water Supply Plan Comments and Responses
Resources
- Regional Water Supply Plan
(December 2015) - 2035 Water Resources Protection and Water Supply Strategies Plan
(December 2015) - 2015 Comments on water supply planning documents
- 2014 Draft Regional Water Supply Plan Comments and Responses Document
- Regional Water Supply Plan fact sheet
- Project Application