In that same year, a Governor's task force on water supply and funding was convened

(Exec. Order No. 96-297). A core assumption adopted by the task force was that water demand

was increasing and that the increased demand needed to be met (Matthews and Nieto 1998).

Though the task force put forth approximately fifty recommendations, its primary theme was that

increasing the supply of available water was necessary to ensure continued population and

economic growth. This would lead to new responsibilities for all the water management districts

and new protections for the environment.

 The 1997 Law and Water Quantity

 The recommendations from the Governor's task force provided the building blocks for

legislation referred to as the "1997 Water Act". This law represented the first major revision of

state water policy since the Model Water Code was utilized to create Chapter 373 of the Florida

Statutes in 1972. Perhaps the best summary of the changes in policy is taken from the statute

itself, which was amended to "promote the availability of sufficient water for all existing and

future reasonable-beneficial uses and natural systems" (F.S. 373.016 (2) (d)). This statement is

significant because it denotes a fundamental shift in the state's water policy. Until this juncture,

the state's primary goal was the allocation of the existing water supply among uses and, recently,

consumptive uses and natural systems. The Districts would now be responsible for allocating

portions of available water between users and natural systems, and would also be charged with

promoting expansion of the water supply, through water resource development.

 Though other topics were covered, the 1997 changes to Chapter 373 were strongly focused

on water quantity issues and consumptive uses. The new law more clearly defined the role of the

WMDs and local governments in supplying water to the public. The water management districts

were tasked with "water resource development" and technical support. "Water resource

development" was defined as the formulation and implementation of regional water resource