The program is responsible for developing water quality standards, evaluating water quality in accordance with those standards, and executing programs necessary to restore the quality of waters that do not meet the standards; supporting local governments and other entities financially to protect and restore water resources; restoring Florida's Everglades and other related South Florida ecosystems; and supervising Florida's aquatic preserves. The program also has oversight of the state's five water management districts.

The program consists of five program areas.

• The Division of Water Restoration Assistance is responsible for providing financial assistance (grants and loans) for projects that improve water quality and quantity. Projects include improving stormwater quality, reducing pollutants that enter surface water and groundwater (including springs), collecting and treating sanitary wastewater, and producing and distributing drinking water.
• The Office of Ecosystem Projects implements all DEP policy, programmatic, technical, and regulatory responsibilities under the Everglades Forever Act, the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, and the Northern Everglades and Estuaries Protection Program. The program focuses on improving water quality and restoring the ecology and hydrology of the greater South Florida's ecosystem.
• The Division of Environmental Assessment and Restoration works with other department divisions, water management districts, other state agencies, local government, the federal government, the private sector and other stakeholders to identify and reduce the impact of human activities on water quality and restore those waters that have already been identified as impaired.  
• The Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection coordinates the protection of the state's coastal resources, including submerged lands and coastal uplands, aquatic preserves, national estuarine research reserves, and coral reef resources.
• The Office of Water Policy addresses statewide water management issues in coordination with the water management districts and other agencies.

It is a policy of the Florida Legislature that the state's water resources be managed at a state and regional level. The department is responsible for the administration of water resources at the state level and exercises general supervisory authority over the five water management districts, which administer water resources at the regional level.

The Office of Water Policy leads in developing appropriate water policies based on statutory direction, overseeing the water management districts and coordinating department and district water programs. The department and the water management districts are responsible for water management in four key areas.

• Water Supply
• Water Quality
• Flood Protection and Floodplain Management
• Natural Systems

In addition, regulatory programs delegated to the water management districts include programs to manage the consumptive use of water, well construction, and environmental resource permitting.

The state's five water management districts are organized along natural hydrological boundaries: Northwest Florida, Suwanee River, St. Johns River, Southwest Florida, and South Florida. The Governor appoints members to boards that govern each district. The appointees are subject to Senate confirmation.

Article VII, section 9 of the Florida Constitution authorizes the state's five water management districts to levy ad valorem taxes upon the assessed value of real property within each district's boundaries. The Northwest Florida Water Management District is limited to a constitutional millage cap of 0.05 mill, while the remaining four districts are limited to a maximum of 1.0 mill.

Apalachicola Bay Surface Water and Groundwater Quality Improvement. The 2023 Legislature enacted Ch. 2023-227, Laws of Florida, which, beginning in Fiscal Year 2023-24 year and continuing through Fiscal Year 2027-28, authorizes the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to expend up to $5 million each fiscal year for the purpose of entering into financial assistance agreements with the City of Apalachicola to implement projects that improve surface water and groundwater quality within the Apalachicola Bay Area of Critical State Concern (ACSC), including the construction of stormwater management facilities and central sewage collection facilities, installation of onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems, direct and indirect potable reuse, and other water quality and water supply projects. This authorization will expire on June 30, 2028.

Resilient Florida Grant Program Expansion. The 2023 Legislature also enacted Ch. 2023-231, Laws of Florida, which, among other provisions, expands the Resilient Florida Grant Program to provide funding to water management districts to support local government adaptation planning. These grants must be used for data creation and collection, modeling, and the implementation of statewide standards.

Other Reports
The Auditor General reports on special district operations are available on its website

Websites of Interest
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Performance Information
Performance measures for the water management districts may be found in each district's annual tentative budget submission
Northwest Florida Water Management District
Suwannee River Water Management District
St. Johns River Water Management District
Southwest Florida Water Management District
South Florida Water Management District

Performance measures and standards for the department may be found in its Long Range Program Plan.

Chapters 187, 259, 253, 373, 380 Part II, 403 Part I, and 403 Part IV, Florida Statutes

• Northwest Florida Water Management District
  81 Water Management Drive
  Havana, FL  32333
  850-539-5999
• Suwannee River Water Management District
  9225 CR 49
  Live Oak, FL 32060
  386-362-1001 or 1-800-226-1066
• St. Johns River Water Management District
  P.O. Box 1429
  Palatka, FL 32178
  386-329-4500 or 1-800-451-7106
• Southwest Florida Water Management District
  2379 Broad Street
  Brooksville, FL 34604
  352-796-7211 or 1-800-423-1476
• South Florida Water Management District
  3301 Gun Club Road
  West Palm Beach, FL 33406
  561-686-8800 or 1-800-432-2045

Website