Paula Dockery
Florida senator

Water is our most vital natural resource and should not be a partisan issue. But after a decade of beneficial policies to protect Florida’s water supply, partisan politics is rearing its ugly head and threatening our quality of life.

With 18 million residents, 80 million annual tourists and the demands of agriculture, development and industry, Florida is a thirsty state, yet faces drought conditions most of the year. If we don’t do something to protect our water supply, we threaten our quality of life and our ability to grow businesses. Remember, businesses consistently list “quality of life” as a deciding factor in relocations or expansions.

But in Tallahassee, the move for less regulation has mostly meant cuts to environmental protections. Budget shortfalls have hit environmental programs disproportionately hard. Some legislators are even trying to micro-manage the state’s five water-management districts to help powerful special interests.

Since 2007, funding to assure a safe and adequate water supply has faced withering attacks. In 2009, lawmakers went so far as to eliminate funds for Florida Forever, the lands-acquisition program that preserved unique natural resources; Water Sustainability, which helped fund alternative water supplies; and Everglades restoration, a project that traditional Republicans have long supported.

Decision-makers seem to ignore that actions have consequences: over-pumping can lead to sinkholes, dry lakes, ruined springs and saltwater intrusion. The discharge of treated sewage has an impact on our estuaries. The lack of regulation leads to polluted water bodies.

So far, unfortunately, Gov. Rick Scott has not been kind to the environment and our water resources. And those of us who have toiled for decades to improve Florida’s quality of life anguish over his decisions to dismantle growth-management laws, abolish the Department of Community Affairs and zero-fund premiere environmental programs.

Perhaps the water-management districts had become bloated, but the governor’s recent cuts didn’t simply target administrative costs, they jeopardized the much-needed water-supply projects these agencies fund.

Still, recent comments by the governor offer a glimmer of hope. In November, he said: “As governor, I understand a healthy economy is dependent upon a healthy environment. Florida’s residents and businesses rely on clean water, clean air and open spaces for tourism, commerce, agriculture and recreation.”

He finished by saying, “Our state’s natural resources are unparalleled. It’s why people choose to live here, vacation here and bring their businesses here. In Florida, we don’t have to choose between a healthy environment and a healthy economy. The two are inextricably linked, and as governor, I am working to ensure our resources are dedicated to the improvement of both.”

Florida is fortunate to have had governors from both parties who have left strong environmental legacies. Gov. Bob Graham is known as the leader of growth management and comprehensive planning. Gov. Bob Martinez is the father of the environmental land-acquisition program Preservation 2000. And Gov. Jeb Bush helped craft Florida Forever, fund growth-management protections and promote the Water Sustainability Act.

Gov. Scott should help take the politics out of water management. For starters, he should quash the move to form a statewide water board. Water should be managed on a regional basis, keeping in place the long-standing policy of “local sources first,” which discourages water pipelines. And the Legislature should first do no further harm, and then reverse the detrimental direction of the past few years.

It’s not too late for the governor to undo what will otherwise become his lasting legacy – a return of the water wars, where no one wins, but Florida is the clear loser.

Paula Dockery is a term-limited Republican senator from Lakeland. She represents a portion of Osceola County and can be reached at pdockery@floridavoices.com.