The Florida Legislature last week passed a revised version of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ property tax cut plan, sending a proposed constitutional amendment to the November ballot. If 60% of voters approve, it’ll be a windfall for homeowners — and a serious problem for Florida’s waterways.

The plan, which the Legislature tweaked to exclude school districts, would increase Florida’s current $50,000 homestead exemption to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028. Cities and counties will somehow have to make up the shortfall. That means cuts, layoffs, reduced services and deferred maintenance.

These impacts have been well-documented in media coverage. The impact on Florida’s five water management districts hasn’t.

WMDs handle flood control, water supply, water quality, and Everglades restoration — and they depend on ad valorem tax revenue to do it. Analysts estimate the districts could lose $250 million during the phase-in period. Already-underfunded programs protecting groundwater, springs, and impaired waterways will be squeezed further. Water quality grant programs could dry up.

Then there’s Everglades restoration. The state recently took the lead on the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Reservoir project and other initiatives. How will the state fund its share while revenues are dropping like a rock?

WMD officials have been largely silent; most governing board members are DeSantis loyalists who know better than to complain publicly. But we suspect some are quietly waving red flags.

This wouldn’t be the first time water management districts saw funding slashed; Gov. Rick Scott and the Legislature in 2011-12 took a scythe to WMD tax rates, triggering hundreds of layoffs and cutbacks that budgets never fully recovered from. Now we’re poised to cut again — not fat, but muscle and bone.

For a state so dependent on functional water management, this is disastrously shortsighted. But hey, everyone loves a tax cut — and our waterways could pay the price.