also created the SWIM Trust Fund to which appropriations would be made to 
support the program. The first year’s appropriation of $15 million was 
allocated for six priority water bodies, four of which were estuarine 
waters (including Tampa Bay). The Southwest Florida Water Management 
District has, therefore, been thrust into the bay management picture by 
the legislation. 
The District has all or part of 16 counties and approximately 
10,000 square miles within its jurisdiction, which includes the southwest 
coast of Florida. In recent years, the District has expanded its 
traditional role of helping to resolve flooding problems. It now 
performs regulatory functions for well construction, consumptive use, 
surface and stormwater management, and aquatic plant management. Surface 
water and stormwater discharge permitting acts to regulate the impact of 
new construction on water quantity, water quality, wetlands or other 
natural resources. The District historically has had little involvement 
in estuarine areas; however, it now has been given the responsibility for 
improving Tampa Bay. 
The legislation instructs the District to designate priority water 
bodies, and to prepare and implement restoration and management plans for 
these water bodies. Although Tampa Bay has been identified in the 
legislation, it is not inconceivable that the District may become 
involved with many other estuarine areas (such as Sarasota Bay) within 
its jurisdiction. It also is not inconceivable that the water management 
district may be the appropriate mechanism for effective bay management, 
since the District now: 
1. has a State mandate to become an active participant in bay 
management; 
2. already has regulatory responsibilities for surface water 
permitting and may soon be delegated additional permitting 
responsibilities; 
3. has taxing authority and can generate the revenue. 
Sarasota Bay has not had the checkered history of management 
attempts and, consequently, does not have the background information that 
typically would be generated through the management development process. 
This is not to say that nothing is known about the bay; in fact, much is, 
but this knowledge has not been used to develop a comprehension of the 
bay as an ecosystem. Without information of this type, the corrective or 
restorative functions of a management system cannot operate. 
Estevez (1988) noted that goals must exist for a resource 
management system to operate. Such goals should be defined for and by 
the public and be practical, verifiable, and meaningful. Practical means 
achievable with existing technical skills, rather than political or legal 
feasibility. Verifiable means that improvements occur as a result of 
management which the lay public can perceive through everyday use of the 
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