Florida's Need for a Programmatic Approach to Water Infrastructure

By Brent Whitfield, P.E., ENV SP

At 2:27 p.m. on March 8, a pair of handkerchiefs were dropped in Florida’s Capitol to signify that the 60day legislative session had “adjourned sine die.” This tradition, which has been in place since the 1920s, is also a sign that the House and Senate have reached a consensus on the state’s budget and passed the Appropriations Act.

This year, the Governor will be presented with a $117.46 billion budget that addresses a wide range of urgent priorities.

If you are an engineer who focuses on Florida’s infrastructure, the budget of a few agencies in particular may be of interest. The new budget allocates $15.7 billion for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and $3.4 billion for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).

Although these investments demonstrate a continued prioritization of transportation, water and the environment from our state leaders, the $12.3 billion difference between FDOT and FDEP reflects a long standing discrepancy between the volume of funding allocated for transportation infrastructure as opposed to allocations for water infrastructure.

This is not a discrepancy that has gone unnoticed. Prior to the 2021 session, legislative leadership authored an editorial in the Tampa Bay Times stating that the state should approach water infrastructure in a manner similar to the existing approach for transportation infrastructure. As a show of support for this approach, ACEC of Florida published an editorial supporting this position that ran in the Tampa Bay Times and the Miami Herald that same year.

Prior to the 2024 legislative session, members of the House and Senate held a press conference to support a report from Florida TaxWatch calling for programmatic funding of water projects.

Although these signals demonstrate that funding of water infrastructure is a priority for policy makers, the gap between transportation and water funding remains in the current budget for several reasons. Three of the underlying reasons are differences in clarity with respect to prioritizing budgetary needs, dedicated sources of funding, and the limits of the state’s responsibilities.

Prioritizing Needs

When it comes to defining the prioritization of budgetary needs for transportation infrastructure in Florida, there is a single resource that provides clarity to taxpayers and policy makers alike. Every July 1 , FDOT adopts an updated FiveYear Work Program that provides a single list documenting the total budget for priority projects across all seven FDOT Districts.

Compiling this document involves a defined process with clear timelines, cooperation with local governments, and a series of public hearings to allow for input from the public.

Currently, there is not an analogous document that provides a prioritized list of infrastructure needs for water or the environment. However, in recent years the groundwork for such a list is being put into place.

In 2016, the Senate passed a bill (SB552) that required the Office of Economic and Demographic Research (EDR) to “conduct an annual assessment of Florida’s water resources and conservation lands.” In 2021, the House passed a bill (HB53) that required each provider of stormwater and wastewater management services to develop a 20-year infrastructure needs analysis that must be updated every five years.

Based on these recent bills, the State has begun to compile a dataset that indicates the size of the future budgetary demands for water infrastructure. As an example, in the 2023 EDR report there was $136 billion in water resource protection and infrastructure needs documented over a 20-year planning horizon, not including adaptation concerns from sea level rise.

Although this data does not provide the type of project prioritization found in the FDOT Five-Year Work Plan, it is a significant improvement on what was available in the past and a step in the right direction.

Although these signals demonstrate that funding of water infrastructure is a priority for policy makers, the gap between transportation and water funding remains in the current budget for several reasons.

For water infrastructure, one approach could be to utilize each of the Water Management Districts (WMDs) in a liaison role with local entities similar to the function of the Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) in the transportation sector.

Dedicated Funding

When it comes to defining the funding for transportation infrastructure in Florida, there is some clarity with respect to dedicated revenue sources.

The Transportation Trust Fund is supported by fuel taxes, motor vehicle license fees, rental car surcharges, documentary stamp taxes, and local option distributions. Not only are these sources dedicated to the trust fund, but the majority of these funds are taxes or fees related to the operation of motor vehicles.

The framework for funding water infrastructure at the state level is not as clear. Despite this difference, policy makers have made progress in recent years.

In 2021, roughly half of the documentary stamp tax revenues that were previously dedicated to affordable housing through the Sadowski Trust Fund were re-allocated into the Resilient Florida Trust Fund. In the most recent legislative session, the Senate and House approved identical bills (SB1638 and HB1417) that allocate 96% of the revenue generated by the new Seminole Gaming Compact for environmental funding purposes. This would mean that the new revenue generated by the 2021 Compact with the Seminole Tribe, which allows for online sports betting and certain table games at casinos, will be directed to environmental concerns.

If signed by the Governor, this law would dedicate $100 million (or 26% of the revenue) to each of three main priorities: the Florida Wildlife Corridor, land management, and the Resilient Florida Trust Fund. The remaining revenue from the gaming compact would be allocated to the Water Quality Improvement Grant Program.

Depending on how this new law would be administered (if signed by the Governor), it could mean a significant increase in dedicated funding for water infrastructure.

State Responsibilities

When it comes to defining the limits of the state’s responsibilities for infrastructure, the naming conventions of several “State Roads” and “Interstates” provide more clarity for the transportation network than analogous components of water infrastructure. Defining what types of water projects are the responsibility of local entities versus the state can be difficult.

When developing the Five-Year Work Plan, FDOT relies on its seven District Offices to work with local Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) that collaborate with cities and counties to determine regional transportation priorities.

By comparison, FDEP coordinates with a wide range of entities when it comes to regulating water infrastructure, but there is not a uniform approach for administering a prioritization plan for projects between the five Water Management Districts (WMDs), 67 counties, 411 municipalities, and over 200 water and wastewater utilities.

For water infrastructure, one approach could be to utilize each of the WMDs in a liaison role with local entities similar to the function of MPOs in the transportation sector. As a demonstration of their successful collaboration with local entities in the past, the WMDs have administered cooperative funding programs to construct a variety of water projects over the past several years.

Looking Ahead

During his term, House Speaker Paul Renner was quoted as saying, “We are looking ahead to what the state will look like 20 years from now and ensuring that when it comes to our infrastructure, things like water supply, water quality, transportation, land conservation, or resiliency, that we’re ahead – not behind –in planning for the future.”

Although Florida still does not have a programmatic approach to water infrastructure planning and funding, significant progress has been made towards that goal in recent years. In the months and years ahead, it is important for engineers throughout the state to explain these concerns to fellow voters and advocate for these issues with policymakers to continue the progress that has been made.

Brent Whitfield is the Director of Water Resources for Chen Moore and Associates, Inc. and has over 20 years of professional experience working with a variety of public sector clients in Florida at the City, County and State level.