The Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD) 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 unconsolidate ...

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 prec ...

resources in a 15-county region in north-central Florida, United States. It is the smallest of five Florida

water management Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially useful for humans, for example as a source of drinking water supply or irrigation water. 97% of the water on the Earth is salt water and only three percent is fresh water; slightl ...

districts.Florida Statutes Section 373.069
/ref> Its district headquarters are in

Live Oak, Florida Live Oak is a city in northern Florida and it is the county seat of Suwannee County, Florida, United States. The city is the county seat of Suwannee County and is located east of Tallahassee. As of 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census ...

History

The five water management districts were established in 1972 by Chapter 373, Florida Statutes, and were empowered by the electorate in 1976 to assess

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es to fund the management of the state’s water resources, and related land resources, to benefit the citizens and the environment. Each water management district is controlled by a Governing Board composed of citizens appointed by the Governor and approved by the Florida Senate. The

Florida Department of Environmental Protection The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) is the Florida government agency responsible for environmental protection. History By the mid-1960s, when the federal government was becoming increasingly involved in initiatives design ...

has oversight responsibility for the five water management districts.

Function

SRWMD’s

hydrological Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is calle ...

activities include regulating the consumptive use of water, regulating the construction and maintenance of

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management systems that serve developed properties in order to protect

water quality Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through tr ...

and prevent flooding, regulating the construction of water wells and the licensure of water well contractors, conducting water supply planning, conducting research on water resource issues, buying and managing environmentally sensitive land, and the operation of

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structures.

Scope

The Florida counties which are entirely within the SRWMD are: Columbia,

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, Gilchrist,

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, Suwannee,

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, and

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. Partial counties include: Alachua,

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and Putnam. The major river under the district's control is the Suwannee. The major

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage b ...

are the: Santa Fe, Alapaha and Ichetucknee. Other rivers include the Withlacoochee, Fenholloway, Aucilla, Steinhatchee, Econfina, Waccasassa and Wacissa.

Recreation opportunities

Suwannee River Water Management District properties offering recreational opportunities include: * Falling Creek Falls, Florida, sightseeing at a 10-foot waterfall * Big Shoals, 28 miles of trails include the Woodpecker multi-use trail and a paddlecraft boat launchBig Shoals
/ref> * White Springs (Florida) * Little Shoals (Florida) * Gar Pond * Stephen Foster (Florida) * Mattair Springs * Camp Branch (Florida) *

Suwannee Springs ''For the unincorporated community see Suwannee Springs, Florida'' Suwanne Springs, once known as Suwannee Sulphur Springs is the site of natural springs and was a historic mineral spring tourist attraction and hotel in Suwannee Springs, F ...

* Holton Creek * Falmouth Springs * Ellaville (Florida) * Anderson Springs * Black tract * North Mill Creek * South Mill Creek * Owens Spring * Jennings Bluff (Florida) * Devil's Hammock * Atsena Otie * Cabbage Creek * Cabbage Grove * Goose Pasture * Mallory Swamp * Steinhatchee Springs * R.O. Ranch *

Steinhatchee Falls Steinhatchee Falls and Steinhatchee Rise are tracts of protected lands in Florida named for aquatic features. Steinhatchee Falls includes , and Steinhatchee Rise covers .

References

External links