Outstanding Florida Waters are rivers, lakes and other water features designated by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) under authority of Section 403.061 (27), Florida Statutes as "worthy of special protection because of their natural attributes." Outstanding Florida Waters have special restrictions on any new activities that would lower water quality or otherwise degrade the body of water.
The Outstanding Florida Water designation has been applied to all bodies of water in national parks, national wildlife refuges, national seashores, national preserves, national marine sanctuaries and estuarine research reserves, state parks and recreation areas, state preserves and reserves, state ornamental gardens and botanical sites, environmentally endangered lands programs, conservation and recreation lands programs, Save Our Coast program acquisitions, state aquatic preserves, scenic and wild rivers (both national and state), and certain waters in national forests. The DEP has also designated these 'special' Outstanding Florida Waters: