House Panel May Reconsider "Local Sources First" Policy, WMDs

The chairman of the new House Select Committee on Water Policy said Thursday that the state's "local sources first" policy that discourages water pipelines will be reviewed along with the role of water-management districts. But she also said doing away with districts in favor of a statewide water agency would be "crazy."

One of the most controversial aspects of Florida water law is the "local sources first" policy that was added in 1998. It requires the Department of Environmental Protection and the state's five water management districts to evaluate local water supply plans with an eye towards developing more expensive local water supplies as opposed to building pipelines.

Florida is divided by a water flow boundary that extends across the peninsula, creating a water-rich North Florida and a water-poor South Florida. Seventy-eight percent of the state's population lives in South Florida but only 44 percent of the rain falls there...