Issue papers: Basin Boards

Issue papers

Basin Boards are unique to the Southwest Florida Water Management District. These boards provide guidance for local programs and projects that are specific to the watershed basin they protect.

They help the District implement its water protection mission. As such, they are an important link between local communities and the District. There are nine hydrologic basins within the 10,000-square-mile area of the District. Eight of them have Basin Boards. The ninth basin is the Green Swamp, headwaters of four major rivers. Because of its hydrologic significance, the Green Swamp Basin is administered directly by the Governing Board.

Like the District, each Basin Board has four major areas of local responsibility: water supply, water quality, flood protection and natural systems. Each board is responsible to provide a local water management perspective, and to focus on water-related issues and projects.

Each board is made up of a minimum of three citizen-volunteers who represent a cross section of the area they serve. These volunteers include at least one representative from each county within the basin. Like the interests they represent — agriculture, urban, rural, recreation, business, industry and the public — all have a stake in a sustainable water resource. Diverse boards with vital interests balance the protection and use of the resource. These 44 Basin Board citizen-volunteers are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Florida Senate, as are the members of the District’s governing body. The chair ex officio of each Basin Board also serves as one of the 11 members of the District’s Governing Board. Each basin appointee serves a three-year period and can be reappointed to additional terms.

Basin programs are financed primarily through ad valorem taxes. Each Basin Board has the statutory authority to levy a maximum tax rate of 0.5 mills. That’s 50 cents for every $1,000 of property value. As a part of the annual budgeting process, each Basin Board determines basin priorities and needs, develops projects to address local needs, and sets the necessary funding levels and corresponding ad valorem tax rates.

The Basin Boards and the District are partners in the New Water Sources Initiative (NWSI), an aggressive and innovative cooperative investment program. Its objective is to develop alternative water sources to meet and balance the vital needs of all water users, including the environment. Alternative water sources include water recycling, desalination, conservation, aquifer storage and recovery, and other innovative technologies. The Basin Boards work cooperatively with local governments to complete a variety of other projects that have direct and measurable impact in local communities. Together, the District and the Basin Boards provide 50 percent of the funds for these cooperative programs that range from educational activities to reclamation projects to resource development.

The following Basin Boards comprise the District:

Alafia River Basin covers 684 square miles in southern Hillsborough County and portions of western Polk County. The major rivers in the basin are the Alafia and the Little Manatee, which feed into Tampa Bay.

Coastal Rivers Basin includes 809 square miles in the coastal areas of Citrus, Hernando and Pasco counties. The region includes coastal wetlands and gulf coastal lowlands, with several significant springs.

Hillsborough River Basin covers an area of 742 square miles that includes portions of Hillsborough, Pasco and Polk counties. The Hillsborough River is a significant source of drinking water for the city of Tampa and Tampa Bay Water, and fresh water for Tampa Bay.

Manasota Basin covers an area of 1,318 square miles, entirely within Manatee and Sarasota counties. The Myakka River and Sarasota Bay are the principal water features of the basin.

Northwest Hillsborough Basin includes an area of just 157 square miles within the northwest part of Hillsborough County, but covers 73 lakes.

Peace River Basin covers an area of 3,030 square miles that include portions of Polk, Hardee, DeSoto, Highlands and western Charlotte counties. As the name suggests, the basin’s most significant water features are the Peace River and its tributaries, and Charlotte Harbor, where the Peace River meets the Gulf of Mexico.

Pinellas-Anclote River Basin covers 369 square miles and is the most densely populated area in the District. The basin includes all of Pinellas County and a small portion of Pasco County south of the Anclote River. This basin imports much of its fresh water from Pasco County.

Withlacoochee River Basin, at 2,000 square miles, is the second largest of the District’s basins. Within the basin are portions of Pasco, Sumter, Hernando, Citrus, Marion and Levy counties. As the name suggests, the Withlacoochee River, with headwaters originating in the Green Swamp, is the area’s principal water feature.

May 2005