District MFLs programs were not, however, implemented with any sense of immediacy. A

Model Water Code (Maloney et al. 1972) had called for minimum flows and levels to establish a

"harm" threshold to protect water resources from withdrawals. As Ross (2001) points out, this

linked the MFLs program to the consumptive-use permitting program, which was designed to

prevent "harm" to the water resources of the state. However, when enacting the 1972 law, the

passage concerning MFLs was modified slightly to protect the water resources from significantt

harm". This difference is notable because although neither term is defined, the law establishes

that there is a difference between "harm" and significantt harm", and suggests some separation

of the consumptive use and MFLs programs. Ross (2001) further pointed out that the linkage

between MFLs and the State Water Use Plan, though present in the original 1972 legislation, was

removed in 1973 when the MFL requirement was moved into a stand-alone statue (F.S.

373.042). These changes from the Model Water Code reduced MFLs to a more marginal role

than was likely intended by the authors of the Code.

 While water quantity policies were still evolving, water quality concerns took center stage.

The 1970s saw the state acquire 141,640 ha of environmentally sensitive lands, often for the

protection of adjacent water bodies. In 1975, the Department of Environmental Regulation

(now, DEP) was formed and given the task of controlling pollution, permitting dredge and fill

activities and supervising the WMDs. Water resource legislation in the 1980s included the 1983

Florida Water Quality Assurance Act and, in 1984, the Warren Henderson Wetlands Protection

Act, which provided additional protection for wetlands by including criteria for the evaluation of

dredge and fill permits (Purdum et al. 1998). Florida also passed the 1987 Surface Water

Improvement and Management Act. This act focused on the restoration and protection of

surface water bodies of regional significance.