The Florida Current reported on Friday that Northwest Florida Water Management District Executive Director Douglas Barr told his district board that after 20 years as executive director, he is leaving the agency, becoming the last head of the five water management districts in Florida to quit, retire or be forced out in the past year.
Informed speculation has it that changes made by Governor Rick Scott and the Legislature have had a strong influence as to why those directors are now history. That's after they cut more than $700 million from those five water boards - but a bill passed in this year's session (SB 1986) makes up for some of those cuts by repealing the spending caps.
The future of Florida's water will be the topic of discussion this Friday night in St. Petersburg in an event sponsored by USFSP called "Water in Florida," and among the panelists will include former Governor Bob Martinez and journalist Cynthia Barnett (Blue Revolution: Unmaking America's Water Crises).
