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The District was established by the Florida Legislature in 1947 (Chapter 23370, Florida Laws) to perform the duties of local sponsor to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) for sharing the cost of the planning, construction, and maintenance of a 152-mile long, 100-foot wide, and nine-foot deep Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GICW) between the mouth of the Caloosahatchee River, near Ft. Myers, and the Anclote River, north of Tampa.
The waterway was intended to link natural deep-water sections of bays through a series of man-made channels, thereby providing for the safe passage of commercial goods, and access to commercial fishing grounds. The GICW channel would run through six counties (Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, and Lee) and the need for rights-of-way and dredge disposal areas existed along the entire length of the planned waterway.
Waterway dredging commenced in 1960. The GICW was completed in 1967, at which time the District began maintenance activities. The District’s mandate was substantially broadened in 1979 to include programs to improve and maintain public channels “connected” to the GICW, as well as waters that made a significant contribution to waterway traffic or commerce. Additionally, the District was enabled to assist and support member counties in planning and implementing navigation projects, waterway research, erosion and accretion studies, and environmental restoration projects.
In 1989, the District
was authorized to participate in a greater diversity of waterway-related
activities, including the promotion of inlet management, and the posting
and maintenance of channel markers and manatee protection speed zone
signs. The District has also initiated programs to encourage boating
safety and environmental stewardship through the dissemination of boater
and waterway guides and resource maps. Recent legislation now allows for
the District to partner with counties adjacent to its four-county region.
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