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Show 206 FLORIDA permits, perhaps partly because some entities using water on non- riparian land (mainly cities) did not want to run the risk of having their applications rejected, and partly because most water users were more interested in acquiring rights to use water during times of shortage rather than in obtaining permits where use was conditional on the availability of water surplus.12 While water management was not very effective under the 1957 act and its amendments, two large districts created directly by the legislature were much more successful. The Central and Southern Florida Flood Control District was created in 1949,13 covers more than 15,000 square miles, and includes all or part of 18 counties. Despite the name, it functions as a multipurpose district, regulates drainage and consumptive water use within its systems, and issues water use permits for fixed periods of time, including permits for irrigation use.14 In 1961 the legislature created the Southwest Florida Water Management District,15 encompassing all or part of 15 coun- ties, with powers and functions similar to the central district. To reflect a more accurate designation of purpose, the term "manage- ment" rather than flood control was used. These districts were ex- pressly preserved by the 1972 act,16 although the department of nat- ural resources is authorized to recommend changes to the 1973 legis- lature, including "changes in boundaries and transfers of funds, appropriations, personnel, property, or equipment"17 between or among those two districts and the districts created under the 1972 act.18 b. Synopsis op 1972 Act The act applies to all surface and underground waters (though it provides some exemptions from regulation), requires that con- sumptive use permits be obtained before diverting water from sur- face watercourses, regulates wells, and provides controls for im- poundments and storage facilities. The act is administered by the Department of Natural Resources and implemented in large part by water management districts, which are under the supervision of the department. The act has a number of rather striking features, but perhaps two stand out above the rest. First is the high degree of operational flexibility accorded to the Department to manage water resources for the total public benefit. In this regard, it will be seen that the department may delegate any of its powers to water management districts, or, conversely, exercise directly any statutory powers granted to water management districts. Water use permits are issued "Id. " Florida Laws 1949, ch. 25270, at 629-36. M Maloney et al, note 1 supra, at 184: "In contrast with the to-date unsuccessful at- tempts at water use regulation in Florida through the establishment of water regulatory districts, the Central and Southern Florida Flood Control District presently regulates the consumptive use of vast quantities of surface water in the district through a compulsory permit system governing withdrawal and drainage of water into the works of the district. Implementing the authority conferred by its enabling legislation to regulate withdrawals from all water bodies in the district, the district has issued numerous permits to agri- cultural users who want either to discharge into or to withdraw from district waterways. The permits are issued for a limited period, thus making it possible to assess the effect of the water management program after a reasonable interval." 15 Florida Laws 1961, ch. 61-691, sec. 1, at 231. MSec. 373.149 (1972 supp.). "Id. "373.069 (1972 supp.). |