Water
Conserving Florida’s natural resources
Challenges
Water use is projected to grow by 14% between 2020 and 2040 due to Florida’s increasing population. This growth will be in all categories, but Public Supply has finally surpassed Agriculture to become the largest water use and accounts for most of the total growth.
Projected Water Demands by Use Type
Florida’s average annual rainfall is 2nd in the country, but only about 30% of it finds its way to bodies of water or the state’s aquifers. As a result, while Florida won’t run out of water, some costly regional projects may be needed to ensure adequacy over the next 15 years.
Conservation could substantially reduce the projected deficit, but convincing Floridians to act proactively is difficult in a state where the average annual rainfall is so high.
Nutrient pollution in Florida’s water bodies is widely considered to be the main driver of harmful algae blooms that destroy our natural habitats.
Florida’s utilities have six years to eliminate dangerous PFAS (forever chemicals) from the drinking water supply. While important for health reasons, doing so will require billions of dollars of new equipment and infrastructure.
Statewide Projected Water Demand and Inferred Supply
Opportunities
With countless public and private entities and individuals producing an immense amount of data related to Florida’s water resources, aggregating this information, as well as best practices, provides our state an opportunity to lead on this issue in a way that no state has ever achieved.
The Florida Council of 100 is leading an initiative to create a State University System-based Water Center to serve as the state’s first consolidated source of water quality and quantity data.
The Water Center will serve as the state’s clearinghouse for the evergreen collection, management, and dissemination of data relating to the preservation, development, and delivery of water resources.
