Water Supply Development Assistance

Water supply development is defined in section 373.019 Florida Statutes and may include traditional and non-traditional – or alternative – water sources. Alternative water supplies are also defined in statute and include, “… salt water; brackish surface and groundwater; surface water captured predominately during wet-weather flows; sources made available through the addition of new storage capacity for surface or groundwater; water that has been reclaimed after one or more public supply, municipal, industrial, commercial, or agricultural uses; the downstream augmentation of water bodies with reclaimed water; stormwater; and any other water supply source that is designated as nontraditional for a water supply planning region in the applicable regional water supply plan.”

Pursuant to section 373.707, F.S., alternative water supply (AWS) development requires cooperative efforts among local, regional, water management districts, and state entities. When funds are available, AWS development must receive priority funding attention.

Recently Funded Projects

Since 2019, the Governor and Legislature have allocated $40 million annually statewide for alternative water supply projects. Three projects have received funding in northwest Florida. See the links below for more information on these projects.

For a list and map of Alternative Water Supply Grant projects, click here.