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Show Chapter 9. FLORIDA CONTENTS Page 1. Development of Florida Water Law___________________________ 203 2. State Organizational Structure for Water Administration and Control. 204 2.1 Administration of Water Rights_______________________ 204 2.2 Resolution of Water Use Conflicts_____________________ 217 2.3 Other Agencies Having Water Resource Responsibilities____ 217 3. Surface Waters____________________________________________ 219 3.1 Method of Acquiring Rights__________________________ 219 3.2 Nature and Limit of Rights_____________________..... 220 3.3 Changes, Sales, and Transfers.......______________..... 220 3.4 Loss of Rights.........-............_____.........___ 221 3.5 Storage Waters, Artificial Lakes, and Ponds____....._____ 222 3.6 Springs__________________________________________ 223 3.7 Diffused Surface Waters_____________________________ 224 4. Ground Water___________....._.........___________________ 224 Publications Available________________________________________ 225 DISCUSSION 1. Development of Florida Water Law Florida has a climate which ranges from temperate to subtropical to tropical; rainfall which averages from 40 to 66 inches per year, depending on the region, and certain point areas which have received more than 100 inches; a large number of lakes and streams; a vast supply of accessible groundwater; and a daily water supply from rain and surface streams of about 175 billion gallons per day.1 And yet Florida has her share of water problems. Eainf all is not only distributed unevenly from area to area, but varies considerably within the same area, both with respect to total precipitation and sea- sonal rainfall patterns. As a result, Florida has experienced a number of serious droughts, including the very severe one which occurred in the 1954-56 period. On the other hand, floods are not uncommon, resulting from waters in excess of stream capacity dur- ing rainy seasons and exceedingly flat topography. Lack of effective water management has been a serious problem in the past, particularly with respect to ground water-a source which supplies 87 percent of the domestic requirements within the State. One serious problem has been salt water intrusion into under- ground aquifers, explained in some measure by the fact that there are a number of large cities located on the coast, withdrawing substantial amounts of ground water for municipal supply. In other areas ground water withdrawals have seriously depleted the flow of sur- face streams; and over drainage of diffused surface water has dam- aged underlying aquifers, sometimes seriously depleting a recharge area serving as a source of supply for the ground water basin. i Maloney, Plager & Baldwin, "Water Law and Administration-The Florida Experience," 4-11 (1968). All of the facts and observations in sec. 1 of the text are taken from the Maloney et al publication, at 1-26. 203 |