the proj ected water needs on a 20-year horizon. Water demand in the state is expected to

increase from approximately 27.2 billion L day-l in 1995 to 34.8 billion L day-l by the year 2020

(DEP 2002a). Based on this projected demand, four of the five water management districts

anticipate water deficits in at least a portion of their jurisdictional boundaries and have been

required to submit regional water plans to the Florida DEP. As of August 2001, all the required

plans were complete (DEP 2002a).

 While it will take years to measure the effectiveness of maj or water-resource planning

efforts, there is some evidence to suggest at least partial success. Planning and funding priorities

guide the districts towards water resource development goals, which will need to be achieved to

meet future water demands while protecting Florida aquatic ecosystems. Planning has helped

quantify the future needs and focus water supply development on cost effective solutions,

including seawater desalinization and aquifer storage and recovery. While these technologies

hold promise and are being actively developed, they have yet to fully reach their potential role in

Florida's water supply. Other strategies such as reclaimed water and conservation efforts are

currently contributing cost effective alternatives to potable water use (DEP 2002b). For

example, reclaimed water systems in Florida supplied 2.2 billion L day-l in 2002 and system

capacity is currently in excess of 4.2 billion L day-l (DEP 2003b).

 While the 1997 Water Resource Act made considerable progress in clarifying the role that

MFLs are to play in state water policy, it also left many technical questions involved in the

development of MFLs unanswered. Considerable work has been done on lotic systems, such as

rivers and streams. Much of this work centers on protection of habitat by identifying necessary

flow regimes using tools such as Instream Flow Incremental Methodology (IFIM) and Physical

Habitat Simulation System (PHABSIM) (Poff et. al. 1997, Postel and Richter 2003, Richter et. al