From the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services:
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam presented recommendations on comprehensive water policy for Florida to the House State Affairs Committee today.
Excerpts of his testimony are below:
“Water is the biggest long-term issue facing Florida, regardless of what part of the state you are from. … Every corner of the state for various reasons is in some form of conflict. This will be hard. This will be complex. It is important that we do it when we are not in crisis coming out of a drought year or a year of multiple hurricanes and that we do it sooner rather than later. Go big, go bold, be ambitious, and get it right.
“It’s time to evaluate what we have learned in the last 30 years of active, aggressive environmental acquisition programs, protection programs, and conservation programs. We should ask ourselves what worked and what didn’t. We should focus on water supply, water resource development, and on restoration. We need to focus on both quality and quantity.
“Agriculture, for example, used to be the number one user of water in the state. It is no more. As a result of best management practices and investments by farmers and ranchers, we are using 11 billion gallons of water per year less today than just a short time ago. Not just agriculture, but all sectors of water users are using less water today. Per capita consumption of water is the lowest it has ever been and continues to decline. That’s something to be proud of.
“What’s the next step? I offer the following as ideas for your consideration.
“We have in place a sound foundation of water policy that includes the requirement that water management districts assess the adequacy of water supplies, and, for areas where it is determined those sources are not sufficient, the requirement that the districts prepare regional water supply plans. We need to strengthen that water policy to ensure these policies are effectively implemented.
“We can do this by ensuring that our water supply planning efforts are scientifically rigorous and timely and that they identify economically and technically feasible priorities.
“In simple terms, we need to prioritize projects that help us achieve the minimum flows and levels and protect our aquifers, lakes, rivers and springs, while also growing our alternative water supply and contribute to water resource development. Alternative water supply has to be a bigger part of Florida’s future.
“As with water supply, we can apply some of these same concepts to water quality. We only need to focus our existing water policy to reflect the progress we have made and ensure that future progress is achieved in the most effective manner. I suggest we:
• Prioritize the expeditious implementation of our existing Total Maximum Daily Load and Basin Management Action Plan programs to restore our springs.
• Revise the current statutes governing the Northern Everglades to reflect the progress we have made and the adoption and implementation of Basin Management Action Plans as the method of addressing water quality.
• Codify the Central Florida Water Initiative in statute.
“In effect, I’m suggesting we have an overarching statewide policy that recognizes the differences around the state, but drives the policy discussion, that has an emphasis on springs, an emphasis on the Northern Everglades, and an emphasis on the Central Florida Water Initiative. We need to do this from a long-term perspective, the next 10 to 20 years. We need to estimate how much it’s going to cost us. Then we prioritize by project.
“We’re all in this together. You put 20 million people and 100 million visitors on a peninsula that is dominated by wetlands, and that’s going to have an effect. We have a $100 billion agriculture industry, a tourism industry that’s even larger than that, and we need to protect them. We want to keep this the kind of place that people want to live, that people want to visit. And a lot of that is rooted in our affinity, our attachment to water.
“Our core values and our identity as a state is attached to water. We have an opportunity to think big and act boldly, and I’m excited about the opportunity.”
For more information about the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, visit www.FreshFromFlorida.com.