The Peace River Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority is an independent special district created in 1982 as a water-planning organization in southwest Florida. But the organization’s mission changed in 1991 after a utilities development company in the region went bankrupt.
The authority acquired the failed company’s infrastructure, including a water treatment plant, river intake pump station, a half-billion-gallon reservoir and 7 miles of 36-inch pipeline. Just like that, the authority became a water wholesaler to member-customers in Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee and Sarasota counties.Three decades later, the authority has vastly expanded its operation and meets some 40% of potable water demands in
