FLORIDA WATER REGULATIONS

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What are the rules and regulations related to water?

Water regulations affect nearly everyone in Florida - utilities, farmers, developers, commercial businesses, industries, homeowners, boaters, commercial fishermen, hotels, restaurants and more. 

Multiple agencies are involved at the federal, state, and local levels. I'm mostly discussing how they affect water utilities below, but we'll talk about how they affect all others in separate posts.

Complying with regulations takes a huge amount of time and money for water utilities. Many require extensive permitting, reporting, and staying current with rules that change every year. 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA) 


The over-arching regulatory agency for water is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The two major laws affecting water include 
However, EPA has delegated its regulatory authority to the states. States can issue their own rules, which may be more stringent (but never less stringent) than EPA's. 

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIROMENTAL PROTECTION (FDEP)


Florida's water utilities are permitted and regulated by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. FDEP has numerous rules for drinking water, wastewater, reclaimed water, and stormwater.  

Florida must share all water utility reports and data with EPA.

There are regulations for everything a water utility must do, including: 
  • Treatment plant and pipeline engineering and construction
  • Obtaining permits for construction and operation of treatment plants and pipelines 
  • Treatment plant operation, staffing, and operator certification
  • Laboratory testing and reporting of results
  • Minimum and maximum levels of contaminants
  • Reporting of issues or problems
  • Monthly reporting of treatment plant performance
FDEP also has regulations pertaining to aquatic preserves, beaches, springs, wetlands, dams, coral reefs, and more.

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH (DOH)



To make things more confusing - in six counties, FDEP has delegated authority to implement the regulatory program for water to the Florida Department of Health: Hillsborough, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Polk, Sarasota, and Volusia.

FLORIDA'S WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICTS

Florida's five Water Management Districts

Florida's five Water Management Districts are responsible for our water supply; water quality; flood protection and floodplain management; and natural systems.

Drinking water is also regulated through Florida's five Water Management Districts. Each water utility must obtain a Consumptive Use Permit (CUP), which determines how much water the utility can extract from its water sources, along with other requirements for testing, conservation, reuse, and public education. They also regulate well construction and environmental resource permitting.

Here are some of the forms required to obtain a CUP from the St. Johns River Water Management District. The permitting process is quite lengthy, even for a permit renewal. 

Water Management Districts may also require Environmental Resource Permits for any construction in wetlands.

LOCAL GOVERMENT REGULATIONS

Many cities and counties also have additional local regulations that may be even more stringent than the state regs. As an example, here's the web page for Jacksonville's Environmental Quality Division.


FLORIDA PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION



Some utilities that are owned by private companies may also be regulated by Florida's Public Service Commission (PSC). The PSC's goal is to ensure utilities provide safe and reliable utility services at fair prices. 

As you can see, complying with regulations plays a major part in running a water utility. And the regulations are constantly changing, always to be more stringent or add another possible contaminant to monitor and remove.

U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS


The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers  (ACOE) - Jacksonville Division covers all of Florida. ACOE designs and builds large projects for some of our country's toughest challenges. Many of these are water-related projects, including environmental restoration, reducing flood risks, reducing storm damage, and emergency response. They also perform regulatory activities. Permits from the ACOE are required for any utility projects that affect wetlands or waters of the United States.

GEEK OUT


If you really want to "geek out," take a look at the FDEP Rules page!

Check out some of the ACOE News Stories.



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