District Overview

The Sunshine Water Control District is a special-purpose local government (Special District) serving an area of north-central Broward County.  The District's area comprises a total of approximately 3,000 acres and is bounded on the north by Wiles Road, on the south by a canal just south of Royal Palm Boulevard, on the west by the L-36 Canal located just west of the Sawgrass Expressway, and on the east by a line just west of the Rock Island Road north of Sample Road, and the City of Coral Springs/City of Margate municipal boundary south of Sample Road, with a very narrow finger of land extending southward all the way to the C-14 Canal.  The District was established on July 10, 1963 by Ch. 63-609, Laws of Florida under the authority of Chapter 298, Florida Statutes, to provide surface water management improvements and services to support the development of this portion of Broward County which was eventually incorporated and became central Coral Springs.

District Organization

The Sunshine Water Control District is organized similar to other local governments in Florida, in that its governing body is composed of a three-member board known as the Board of Supervisors.  The Board establishes the policy of the District in accordance with Florida law.  The Board, by law, must hire a District Manager and District Counsel.  The Board, through review of advertised Requests for Qualifications, ranks and selects a District Engineer to perform the engineering needs of the District.  District Manager and the District Attorney administer the operations of the District and implement the Board’s policies and contracts.  Special Districts are not unlike other forms of local government, such as cities and counties, however, their powers are limited solely to the provision of specific infrastructure and services to a defined geographical area.

District Services

The Sunshine Water Control District, as suggested by its name, is charged with provision of infrastructure and services for the purpose of surface water control.  The District's water control system consists of canals with approximately 500 acres of water surface conveying water flow from north to south and terminating at the C-14 Canal.  The system also includes numerous culverts allowing for system connections and water passage under roads, structures and earthen obstacles.  During periods of high canal and ground water level, the system is designed to discharge excess water south into the C-14 Canal by a forced-flow method utilizing powerful pumps at two locations.  One serves the West Basin of the District (the area approximately west of University Drive) and uses four water pumps driven by liquid propane-powered engines to pump up to approximately 50,000 gallon of water per minute per each pump.  The other serves the East Basin of the District (the area approximately east of University Drive) and uses four water pumps driven by liquid propane-powered engines to pump up to approximately 40,000 gallon of water per minute per each pump.  Conversely, during periods of low ground water level, water flows to the District from the C-14 Canal by gravity, from south to north, allowing for the replenishment of ground water recharge system, used primarily for the benefit of the City of Coral Springs well fields.

To maintain the water control system, the District provides aquatic weed control, water level control, ground water recharge, canal rights-of-way mowing, canal cleaning and culvert inspections services.  To offer these services, the District utilizes a combination of its own seven employees, and other resources shared with the Coral Springs Improvement District (the "CSID") and contracts with third-party vendors.  The District pays the CSID rent to have its operations office located at the main CSID offices, and also shares some other expenditures with the CSID, including technology expenditures for computer-based financial software, personnel, insurance, benefit administration, accounting, budgeting, and customer service.  Such sharing of resources allows for their efficient utilization without the need for unnecessary duplication of personnel, offices, etc.