As an independent special district of the state of Florida, our mission at the Authority is to provide our members with reliable supplies of high-quality water in a way that both protects and preserves the environment.

Working Together to Supply Water to the Region
Operating as a regional partnership with our members—Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee and Sarasota counties—we work collectively to ensure adequate water supplies for an ever-growing population of more than 900,000 people in our region. We develop, recover and store water that we supply to our members wholesale at the lowest possible cost. They, in turn, provide water to their customers.

Every day we supply an average of 25 million gallons of water to our members. This water, skimmed from the Peace River, is treated at our main facility located on the Peace River in DeSoto County near Fort Ogden. This facility treats up to 48 million gallons per day (mgd) and has been withdrawing water from the river since 1980. Treated water is then injected into an aquifer, which acts as a natural underground storage tank, and is then recovered as needed. This process, known as aquifer storage and recovery (ASR), is an ideal method for meeting our seasonal water demands. It allows us to withdraw water during “wet” months, and then store for use during “dry” periods when river levels are low.

Our Board
Our board of directors is comprised of one representative from each member county. Each board member is a county commissioner elected to serve on his or her Board of County Commissioners.

Our Administration
Our staff and consultants include engineers, hydrologists, scientists, ecologists and professionally licensed water plant operators who use advanced, scientific methods to manage our water supply and delivery system.