To steward coastal water bodies and their tributary watersheds by improving the quality, quantity, timing and distribution of surface and groundwater inflows by providing leadership in engineering, science and planning with both public and private partners.
Introduction:
Coastal communities throughout the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) are faced with impressive challenges in balancing water resource needs and functions between a burgeoning human population and the natural environment that is biologically unique and serves as the backbone of the south Florida economy. Key issues associated with these challenges are land use, water quality, the timing and distribution of freshwater into coastal water bodies and the preservation of coastal habitats.
Coastal Ecosystems encompasses seven major ecosystems. Each ecosystem, informally named by the coastal water body in which it resides, possesses unique hydrologic, biologic and anthropogenic features and includes both land (watershed) and water (estuary, lagoon, river, etc.) components. The ecosystems are: St. Lucie Estuary / Indian River Lagoon, Loxahatchee River, Lake Worth Lagoon, Biscayne Bay, Florida Keys, Estero Bay and Caloosahatchee Estuary. Florida Bay can be found on the Everglades/Florida Bay Watershed site because of its linkage with the southern Everglades ecosystem.
Focusing on the entire watershed of each coastal water body is essential to make meaningful improvements in land use, coastal habitats, water quality and the timing and distribution of freshwater into coastal water bodies. Healthy seagrass communities depend on these improvements. Specifically, looking at the sources and amounts of pollution that originate in the watershed is key in making the connection to impacts in estuaries.
Most of the work within the coastal ecosystems is directed toward habitat restoration by mandates. Work efforts support the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), the Florida Watershed Restoration Act, the Surface Water Improvement and Management Act and the 1997 revisions to State Water Law requiring development of Minimum Flows and Levels for specified water bodies. The SFWMD is required by the Florida Administrative Code (FAC Chapter 62-40) to establish regional stormwater management policies for watersheds by determining pollutant load reduction goals. Ecosystems restoration work within the coastal area is coordinated with the SFWMD regional service centers and the Water Supply Department to accomplish these work efforts.
The project information in this web site is organized in a way that most people relate to information, by location (estuaries, lagoons & bays, other).
Environmental Operations:
Improved protocols for environmental operations, consistent with the District's mission, are being developed for coastal ecosystems. With the implementation of the new regulation schedule for Lake Okeechobee and the advent of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Program (CERP), come additional opportunities for making release decisions system-wide that benefit the water resources of the region. These resources include the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries, the Lake Okeechobee littoral zone and remnant Everglades.
A key feature of the environmental operations will be the protocol for discretionary releases from Lake Okeechobee to the estuaries. The new regulation schedule, called WSE for Water Supply and Environment, provides more flexibility in making both regulatory discharges from the lake and environmental water supply deliveries to the estuaries when necessary.
The environmental operations protocols are being developed with public input from individuals, water user groups, state and federal agencies, the SFWMD Water Resources Operations and other stakeholders. These protocols will then be presented to the SFWMD governing board for approval.
About Watersheds
Coastal Ecosystems
