FACTs

This fact sheet is provided as a 

reference to encourage a greater 

understanding of the various 

issues related to managing 

water in south Florida. 

St. Lucie River Water Reservation 

Protecting Water Resources 

The southern Indian River Lagoon, St. Lucie Estuary and its designated 

watershed are included in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). The 

Indian River Lagoon – South (IRL-S) Recommended Plan calls for constructing a series 

of reservoirs to reduce the high-volume discharges that impact estuarine biota, and to 

improve water quality and water supply by providing for more natural quantity, 

quality, timing and distribution of inflows to the estuary, and to restore the North Fork 

of the St. Lucie River and its floodplain. 

A water reservation is proposed to support ongoing restoration in the St. Lucie 

River, which is included in CERP’s Indian River Lagoon – South Project. The state of 

Florida, the Florida legislature and the South Florida Water Management District have 

appropriated $2.4 billion toward CERP. 

The federal Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2000 requires the 

District to complete the reservation prior to signing an agreement to receive federal 

CERP funding for the Indian River Lagoon – South Project. Construction of the project 

was authorized by WRDA 2007. 

Defining water reservations 

Florida law supports the creation of water reservations, a legal mechanism to 

set aside water for the protection of fish and wildlife or public health and safety. 

When a water reservation is in place, volumes and timing of water at specific 

locations are protected for the natural system ahead of consumptive uses such 

as new development. 

• Reservations are identified using scientifically reviewed data linking local 

hydrology to the needs of fish and wildlife. 

• Enough water is reserved, or set aside, to encourage the survival of a 

healthy and sustainable native fish and wildlife community during natural 

cycles of drought, flood and population variation. 

• Water that is reserved for the protection of fish and wildlife in the identified 

water bodies will not be allocated for consumptive use. 

• Any water above the amount needed to protect fish and wildlife may be 

considered for allocation. 

• Existing legal uses that are not contrary to the public interest may continue. 

Reservations benefit the environment 

Long-term success of ecosystem restoration is measured, in part, by the ability 

of native fish and wildlife to thrive in habitats in the southern Indian River 

Lagoon, the St. Lucie River and Estuary and its floodplain. 

The St. Lucie Estuary and Indian River Lagoon together form the most diverse 

estuarine environment in North America. The lagoon contains the St. Lucie 

Estuary, a designated Estuary of National Significance. 

• The lagoon and estuary are home to more than 4,300 species, including 35 

species listed as endangered or threatened. 

 September 2009 

just the 
• More than 50 endangered and threatened species and species of special concern are 

found in the Indian River Lagoon and its watershed. 

o Land and marine animals includes shortnose sturgeon, smalltooth sawfish, the 

Florida scrub jay, peregrine falcon, sandhill crane, manatee and five species of 

sea turtles – hawksbill, green, loggerhead, leatherback and Kemp’s ridley. 

o Plants include Lakela’s mint, Johnson’s seagrass and bay cedar. 

• A recent study shows that the economic benefits of the Indian River Lagoon totaled 

more than $3.7 billion in 2007. 

The St. Lucie River is designated an Outstanding Florida Water, one worthy of special 

protection because of its natural attributes. 

• The St. Lucie River has more species of fish than any other river in Florida, and more 

than 500 fish species, have been documented within a two-mile radius of the St. Lucie 

River where it meets the Indian River Lagoon. 

The North Fork of the St. Lucie River is a state aquatic preserve and part of Florida’s “Save 

Our Rivers” program.

• More than 650 native species, including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, 

invertebrates, plants and phytoplankton, have been located and identified within the 

preserve and adjacent floodplain. 

• There are 33 species of special concern in and adjacent to the preserve and 20 additional 

rare species supported by the preserve. 

o This includes the mangrove rivulus and opossum pipefish, the only two 

federally listed fish species in the preserve. 

o It also contains rookeries for the endangered wood stork. 

To survive, the thousands of species found in the Indian River Lagoon, St. Lucie River, 

Estuary and its floodplain depend on the year-round availability of water. 

Developing the reservation and gathering public input 

• In April 2008, the District Governing Board initiated a rulemaking process to protect 

water provided to the natural system by the Indian River Lagoon-South Project. 

• A multi-step process is in place to ensure that the proposed water reservation is 

thoroughly studied and considered by scientific experts, officials, stakeholders and the 

public. 

• A panel of nationally recognized, independent scientific experts reviewed research 

supporting the proposed reservation and published their findings in June 2009. The 

panel’s analysis showed that the proposed reservation is supported by sound science. 

• Public workshops to develop draft rule language began in April 2009 and continues 

through October 2009. 

 

What’s next 

• When available, a draft of the water reservation rule will be posted online at 

www.sfwmd.gov/slrreservation. 

• It is anticipated that the District Governing Board will authorize publicizing the draft in 

the Florida Administrative Weekly this fall. 

• A public hearing to consider adopting the water reservation rule will take place after the 

draft is publicized. 
 Water reservations for these basins are proposed to support ongoing St. Lucie River restoration.