Florida TaxWatch Commentary Reviews Florida’s Water Supply and Anticipated Water Shortage as Early as Next Year

Tallahassee, Fla. - Today, Florida TaxWatch released Florida's Water Supply: Could Florida Experience a Significant Water Supply Shortage by 2025?, a commentary of Florida's water supply shortage. According to a June 2024 Office of Economic and Demographic Research (EDR) report, Florida could experience a water supply shortage as early as next year (2025) and it is expected to increase in severity through 2040.

Florida TaxWatch President and CEO Dominic M. Calabro said, "While Florida TaxWatch commends the Legislature for their recent efforts to create a dedicated funding source for water projects, Florida will not be able to sustain the continued level of growth it has seen over the recent years without dramatically improving how it selects and funds water projects. We must implement a Five-Year Water Project Work Program, similar to the Florida Department of Transportation Five-Year Work Program to meet these growing demands."

The EDR projects that Florida will need to invest an estimated $1.7 billion for critical water projects through 2040 to avoid a significant water supply shortage. Florida has the fastest growing economy of any state, and as the population in Florida increases, the state will not be able to sustain this economic and population growth absent a consistent, comprehensive, and coordinated statewide strategy for funding water projects.

With less than 40 percent of the water supply projects having committed funding, the remaining 60 percent will have to come from local, regional, or federal funding sources. Having a committed and recurring funding source for water projects was a recommendation in Florida TaxWatch's 2023 report, Water Infrastructure Projects are Vital: Develop and Fund a 3-5 Year Strategic Work Program.

To learn more and access the full commentary, please click here.

About Florida TaxWatch
As an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit government watchdog and taxpayer research institute, and the trusted "eyes and ears" of Florida taxpayers for more than 45 years, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) works to improve the productivity and accountability of Florida government. Its research recommends productivity enhancements and explains the statewide impact of fiscal and economic policies and practices on taxpayers and businesses. FTW is supported by its membership via voluntary, tax-deductible donations and private grants. Donations provide a solid, lasting foundation that has enabled FTW to bring about a more effective, responsive government that is more accountable to, and productive for, the taxpayers it has served since 1979. For more information, please visit www.floridataxwatch.org.