Kissimmee River Debate: Should Water Be Protected Or Utilized?

The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) wants to tap the Kissimmee River, but environmentalists have concerns about this proposal. 

"It is non-negotiable that the water-management district must fully protect water for the Kissimmee River restoration before even considering giving away any water," said Jane Graham, an Audubon Florida legal expert, to the Orlando Sentinel. 

Where the water should go is a longtime rift in this area. 

"The tension between water for natural systems and water for cities is the result of a current effort called the Central Florida Water Initiative to look at future alternative water sources to meet water demand in Polk, Lake, Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties in the coming decades," The Ledger reported. 

South Florida Water Management District is working on a regulatory proposal meant to preserve the river and allow for withdrawals. 

A Ledger blogger reported: "SFWMD scientists acknowledged they have an incomplete picture of what the river was like before it was ditched. Data is sketchy, they said. I heard one data cache was lost when a field station containing the only copies of  one batch of  data  flooded during a hurricane many years ago."

Legislative action may ultimately determine the outcome. 

"The challenge that will probably hinge on the results of upcoming elections will be how this issue will be handled when it reaches the Florida Legislature. Legislators passed a law a few years ago to give them to authority to look over agencies’ shoulders when they propose a rule that has a major regulatory impact. Major is defined as more than $1 million over a five-year period," the blog reported. 

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