The St. Johns River Water Management District ("SJRWMD") is one of five Florida water management districts that is responsible for managing

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidat ...

and

surface water Surface water is water located on top of land forming terrestrial (inland) waterbodies, and may also be referred to as ''blue water'', opposed to the seawater and waterbodies like the ocean. The vast majority of surface water is produced by pr ...

resources in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

. SJRWMD covers an 18-county region in northeast and east-central Florida. It employs approximately 600 people at offices in Palatka,

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the c ...

Maitland Maitland is an English and Scottish surname. It arrived in Britain after the Norman conquest of 1066. There are two theories about its source. It is either a nickname reference to "bad temper/disposition" (Old French, ''Maltalent''; Anglo Norm ...

, and Palm Bay. The district's headquarters is located in Palatka. The budget for 2013-14 is $135.5 million.

History

SJRWMD is one of five water management districts that were established in 1972 by Chapter 373, Florida Statutes, as independent special districts, and were empowered by the electorate in 1976 to assess ''ad valorem'' taxes to fund the management of the state’s water and related land resources, to benefit people and the environment. Each water management district is administered by a Governing Board composed of residents appointed by the Governor and approved by the

Florida Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

. All districts report directly to the governor. In 2013, the District lost a case before the U.S. Supreme court in ''

Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management District ''Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management District'', 570 U.S. 595 (2013), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that land-use agencies imposing conditions on the issuance of development permits must comply with the "nex ...

''.

Area of Jurisdiction

The counties which are entirely within SJRWMD are: Brevard, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Indian River, Lake, Marion, Nassau, St. Johns, Seminole, Putnam, and Volusia. Partial counties include: Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Okeechobee, Orange, and Osceola. SJRWMD covers 12,283 square miles (31,813 km²), or 23 percent of Florida. , 4.73 million people (about 21 percent of the state’s population) made their home in SJRWMD. The major river within SJRWMD is the

St. Johns River The St. Johns River ( es, Río San Juan) is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and its most significant one for commercial and recreational use. At long, it flows north and winds through or borders twelve counties. The drop in ele ...

. The two major tributaries are the

Econlockhatchee River The Econlockhatchee River (Econ River for short) is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 21, 2011 north-flowing blackwater tributary of the St. Johns River. The Ec ...

and the

Ocklawaha River The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 21, 2011 Ocklawaha River flows north from central Florida until it joins the St. Johns River near Palatka. Its name is derive ...

. Other major waterways are the St. Marys River, which serves as the boundary between Florida and Georgia; and the

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 * Nassau Street (Winnipeg) ...

, Ocklawaha,

Matanzas Matanzas (Cuban ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Matanzas (Spanish ''Bahia de Matanzas''), east ...

Halifax Halifax commonly refers to: *Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada * Halifax, West Yorkshire, England *Halifax (bank), a British bank Halifax may also refer to: Places Australia *Halifax, Queensland, a coastal town in the Shire of Hinchinbrook *Halifax ...

, and

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

rivers. SJRWMD contains 96 springs and more than 1,400 lakes.

References

External links

*
relevant topics currently in the news or recently in the news
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Johns River Water Management District Water management authorities in the United States State agencies of Florida 1972 establishments in Florida Government agencies established in 1972 Organizations based in Putnam County, Florida Palatka, Florida

History

Area of Jurisdiction

See also

References

External links