District Overview

The Melbourne-Tillman Water Control District is a Special District established in 1922 by the Florida Legislature for the purpose of providing a water management system to prevent damage from flooding, erosion, and excessive drainage.  The District is a dependent water control district of Brevard County authorized by the Florida Legislature under Ch.2001-336, Laws of Florida as amended by Ch. 2003-334, Laws of Florida and Ch. 2010-1053, Laws of Florida, and Ch. 2019-175, Laws of Florida. The District is located in southern Brevard County and includes portions of unincorporated Brevard County, the City of Palm Bay and the City of West Melbourne.  It is roughly rectangular in shape, 11.5 miles north to south and 9 miles east to west, containing 100 square miles within its boundaries(approximately 64,500 acres).  The District owns and maintains over 2300 acres of canal rights-of-way in 163 miles of canals. The District is funded through the annual collection of User Fees, which is  based on property size and use.  The District has three User Fees categories: Agricultural, Residential, and Commercial which are applied “per acre or portion thereof” whether developed or undeveloped parcels.

District Organization

Melbourne-Tillman Water Control District is governed by a seven member Board of Directors appointed by the City of Palm Bay (3 members), Brevard County (3 members), and the City of West Melbourne (1 member).  The number of appointees is representative of the acreage of each jurisdiction within the District.  The legislative qualification is that members must reside within District boundaries for the tenure of their service. As a dependent District, the Board of Directors recommends a tentative annual operating budget for each fiscal year (including User Fee rates) to be submitted to the Board of County Commissioners for approval.  The District’s budget is subject to the approval of a majority of the Board of County Commissioners, with the special condition that commissioners representing Districts 3 and 5 (the location of the District) must both vote in the affirmative. The District is staffed with 20 employees.   District Administration consists of five employees.  Fifteen employees are in Field Operations, and are  skilled and trained in aquatic weed control, canal/right-of-way maintenance, and equipment/facility maintenance.

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Operations
The District maintains a major water control structure, known as MS-1, at the eastern end of Canal C-1.  MS-1 is a multi-gated structure consisting of six overshot gates, which was recently installed by the St. Johns River Water Management District and replaced the former radial and AMIL gates. The District’s controlled water elevation stages can be viewed through the St. Johns River Water Management District’s website by accessing the following link

St. John River Water Management District

St. Johns River Water Management District

C-1 Rediversion

Stormwater Systems Management Education