| Welcome
to the permitting portal for Florida’s water management districts.
This portal is designed to direct you to the appropriate district’s
Web site for obtaining information regarding the districts' permitting
programs, applying for permits, and submitting permit compliance information.
The state’s five water management districts
issue several types of permits. The three most common deal with how much
water is used, the construction of wells, and how new development
affects water resources.
Consumptive use or water
use permits
The type of permit which authorizes water use is called a consumptive
use permit (CUP) or a water use permit (WUP). This permit allows
water to be withdrawn from surface and groundwater supplies
for reasonable and beneficial uses such as public supply (drinking
water), agricultural and landscape irrigation, and industry
and power generation. |
Northwest
Florida | Suwannee River
| St. Johns River | Southwest
Florida | South Florida
|
| Environmental resource
permits
The Environmental Resource Permitting Program benefits Florida
by preventing stormwater pollution to Florida's lakes and
streams and by protecting wetlands. Environmental resource
permits (ERPs) were first required in 1995. They combine the
former wetland dredge and fill permit issued by the Florida
Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and the management
and storage of surface waters permit issued by the water management
districts. An ERP is needed to regulate activities such as
dredging and filling in wetlands, construction of drainage
facilities, stormwater containment and treatment, construction
of dams or reservoirs, and other activities affecting state
waters. Anyone proposing construction of new facilities, including
governmental agencies, developers building new residential
or commercial areas and anyone who wants to fill in wetlands,
must have an ERP.
Each district has an operating agreement with FDEP about which
agency will process ERPs for particular projects, based on
the type of land use. For example, the districts process residential
and commercial developments, while FDEP processes power plants,
wastewater treatment plants and single-family home projects.
If the proposed activities involve works in adjacent water
bodies, the districts will generally request a title determination
from the state of Florida as to whether the state has any
claim to the submerged lands. If the state claims title to
the submerged lands, the districts will also process any required
authorizations from the state for use of the submerged lands.
These authorizations can include consents of use, easements
and leases, and must be processed concurrently with an ERP
application. |
Northwest
Florida | Suwannee River
| St. Johns River | Southwest
Florida | South Florida
|
Right-of-way occupancy permits
Right-of-way occupancy permits are issued to protect the South
Florida Water Management District's ability to utilize the canal
and levee rights-of-way of the Central and Southern Florida
Flood Control Project, the related water conservation areas,
the works of the Big Cypress Basin, and certain other canals
and rights-of-way while providing for compatible public and
private uses.
A right-of-way occupancy permit is actually a revocable license
granted pursuant to the SFWMD's proprietary interest in the
rights-of-way acquired for the canal and levee system which
makes up the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Central and Southern
Florida Flood Control Project, and for certain other canals
and works.
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South Florida
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