January 23, 2003

Ms. Trudi Williams, Chairman

South Florida Water Management District

3301 Gun Club Road

West Palm Beach , Florida 33416-4680

Dear Ms. Williams,

Congratulations on your recent decision to enact year round water conservation measures for a portion of Southwest Florida .  While the Watershed Council supports this action, we respectfully ask that you apply the same conservation measures to all users within the sixteen county jurisdiction of the South Florida Water Management District.  As we stated to you in our letter of December 12, 2002 , we believe that all water users should be included in the water conservation program, with exceptions only for those entities engaged in best management practices and/or having a regulated allocated supply of the water resource.  In addition, we urge you to refrain from viewing the water restrictions as a program which will enable the District to issue more water use permits – the water “saved” through conservation measures should be dedicated to natural systems.  This approach will not only benefit the aquifer supplying the coastal counties of Southwest Florida , it will also serve to protect the water supply from wherever it may be drawn within the District.

We also again urge you to recognize the need for public education to stimulate voluntary compliance with use restrictions for water conservation.  Education coupled with necessary enforcement will effect a successful program.  In this context, we are alarmed that most of the South Florida Water Management District is being excluded from this conservation effort. 

We thank your for your leadership in this effort, and we look forward to working with you to make the conservation of water resources a normal part of life for every citizen living within the South Florida Water Management District’s boundaries.

Sincerely,

Michael R. Bauer, J.D., Ph.D.

Chairman

Copy:  Mr. Henry Dean, Ms. Carol Wehle

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