| |
The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s (SWFWMD’s) development and implementation of a Utility Outreach Program (UOP) will improve communication with the 170 water supply utilities within the District. SWFWMD has traditionally used regulation and cooperative funding to manage and influence water management decisions. Efforts toward enhanced collaboration are showing promise in making water management more effective and better integrated in the future. The SWFWMD’s UOP will provide a “two way street” of communication allowing SWFWMD to better inform utilities of key programs and learn about specific challenges that utilities are facing. The program began in 2008 during the development of Polk County’s Comprehensive Water Supply Plan. Since the plan encompassed the County’s 17 municipalities, buy-in was needed from the municipalities in order for the plan to effectively guide long and short-term water supply planning. Also underway in 2008, were communications with the municipalities of East Pasco County and the City of Plant City to assist with their respective water supply planning efforts. A Utility Outreach Manual (UOM) will serve as a key communication resource in moving the UOP forward. The UOM will provide a concise description of each SWFWMD program/tool, its relevance to utilities and where to obtain more information. The UOM will cover topics such as: water demand projection GIS model, water conservation, 20 year water use permits, cooperative funding along with over a dozen other SWFWMD programs. One potential benefit of the UOP will be a more streamlined water use permitting (WUP) process as many of the UOP programs relate in some way back to the WUP. Given current economic conditions, state and local governments must strive to work more efficiently and share resources when possible. SWFWMD’s UOP is a step in that direction. |