East Coast Regional Water Summit

Operational Challenges:
Decision-making in the face of uncertainty

In light of regional weather extremes over the last three years including back-to-back hurricanes and severe drought, the South Florida Water Management District Governing Board in June unanimously adopted a resolution calling for a Water Summit among South Florida stakeholders to explore short-term water management challenges.

Hosted by the Water Resources Advisory Commission Lake Okeechobee Committee, the one-day forum brought a wide range of interested parties together to share thoughts and learn more about the challenges of managing the 16-county water control system that stretches from the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes to Lake Okeechobee and Florida Bay.

Through a roundtable format, participants heard from agency staff about the current state of the system, scientific challenges, how management decisions are made and the upcoming climate and tropical outlook. The forum also detailed options for managing the vast system under three different scenarios based on different rainfall conditions: average, below average and above average rainfall.