Basin Boards

One way SWFWMD is distinguished from the other four water management districts in Florida is by its Basin Boards. These Boards provide guidance for local programs that are specific to the basins they protect.

SWFWMD has nine basins. Eight of them have Basin Boards. The ninth basin is the Green Swamp, headwaters for four major rivers. Because of its hydrologic significance for a large portion of the District, the Green Swamp Basin is administered directly by the Governing Board.

The Basin Boards offer a local perspective to water management projects and programs. They focus on water-related issues and projects, and they provide programs and budgets to address these concerns. They finance their programs in part through advalorem taxes. The one mill taxing capability of the District is divided evenly between the Basin Boards and the Governing Board.

Clearly, the Basin Boards are important to efficient water resource management. They allow planning to take place for each Basin, which conforms to trends being established by state and federal agencies. And they also provide a vehicle to enhance environmental protection efforts that look at entire watersheds, including the land, water, and plants and animals within them. The Basin Boards, through their annual planning process, identify key issues and establish priorities in their Basins in four areas of responsibility: water supply, flood protection, water quality, and natural systems.

One way the Basin Boards fulfill their responsibilities is through their role in the District's Cooperative Funding Program. Through this program, Basin Boards work with local governments and other entities on water resource projects that have an impact in local communities. Half the money for these projects comes from the Basin Boards. The other half comes from the local government or local cooperator.

Basin Board members are unpaid citizen volunteers appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate. They serve three-year terms. Each of the Basin Boards includes one person from each county within the basin, and there must be at least three members on each board. Each Basin Board has at least one of the 11 members of the District's Governing Board that serves as the Basin Board's chair ex officio. There are 46 Basin Board seats on the eight boards, excluding the Governing Board representatives. 

BASIN  BOARD AREA OF REPRESENTATION:

Alafia River Basin Board

(Represents the southern half of Hillsborough County and a southwestern portion of Polk County)

Coastal Rivers Basin Board

(Represents coastal regions of Citrus, Hernando and Pasco counties)

Hillsborough River Basin Board

(Represents Hillsborough, Pasco and Polk counties)

Manasota Basin Board

(Represents all of Manatee and Sarasota counties)

Northwest Hillsborough Basin Board

(Represents northwest Hillsborough County)

Peace River Basin Board

(Represents all of DeSoto and Hardee, and portions of Charlotte, Highlands and Polk counties)

Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board

(Represents all of Pinellas, and a portion of Pasco counties)

Withlacoochee River Basin Board

(Represents portions of Citrus, Hernando, Levy, Marion, Pasco and Sumter counties)

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