Quick Facts and Figures

The South Florida Water Management District operates the region's primary water control system and manages water supplies year-round, meeting this challenge even during South Florida's weather extremes.

• The primary water control system includes:
  • More than 2,175 miles of canals
  • More than 2,130 miles of levees/berms.
  • More than 915 water control structures
  • More than 620 project culverts.
  • 89 Pump Stations
  • About 3,537 hydrological monitoring stations at more than 687 flow sites, including 201 rain gauges and 22 weather stations. 
     
• The District is a regional water resources agency responsible for: 
  • Ecosystem Restoration
  • Water Supply
  • Flood Protection
     
• The District is responsible for restoring America’s Everglades, the largest ecosystem restoration project in the world. 
   
• We restore and protect natural ecosystems including rivers, lakes, wetlands/uplands, bays and coastal estuaries.

  Major natural systems:

  • Upper Kissimmee Chain of Lakes
  • Kissimmee River and floodplain
  • Lake Okeechobee
  • Caloosahatchee River and Estuary
  • St. Lucie River and Estuary
  • Big Cypress National Preserve
  • Everglades Water Conservation Areas (3)
  • Everglades National Park/Florida Bay
     
• ​​​​​​​We safeguard and expand regional water supplies for people and the environment for today and tomorrow, emphasizing the development of alternative water sources and water conservation.
   
• We were created by state legislation in 1949 as the Central and Southern Florida Flood Control District. The Water Resources Act of 1972 established Florida's five water management districts and broadened our responsibilities. We formally became the South Florida Water Management District on Jan. 1, 1977.
   
• Our service area encompasses 31 percent of the state's total land area, or 18,000 square miles.
   
• Our boundaries are determined by watersheds and hydrology. We encompass all or part* of 16 counties:
  • Broward
  • Charlotte*
  • Collier
  • Glades
  • Hendry
  • Highlands*
  • Lee
  • Martin
  • Miami-Dade
  • Monroe
  • Okeechobee*
  • Orange*
  • Osceola*
  • Palm Beach
  • Polk*
  • St. Lucie
     
• Agency headquarters are in West Palm Beach with three regional Regulatory Service Centers and eight field stations throughout the 16-county region.
   
• The South Florida Water Management District serves more than 9 million residents. 
   
• Nearly 1.5 million acres of land within our boundaries is in public ownership.
   
• 57,000 acres of constructed wetlands remove excess nutrients from runoff water before it enters the Everglades.
   
• Our fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30. We are funded through ad valorem (property) taxes and other sources.
   
• Priorities, policies and the budget are set by a nine-member Governing Board.
   
• Day-to-day management is led by the Executive Director.