While a debate over whether Florida should continue to constrain funding for water resources swirled in Tallahassee this month, some local officials were left guessing whether funding from the Southwest Florida Water Management District, commonly known as Swiftmud, will be available for their local water projects.

Punta Gorda utility director Tom Jackson, for example, was hard-pressed to provide his council with an answer this week when asked whether the city’s chance of winning district grants for the proposed $28 million reverse-­osmosis water plant project would be better or worse in a few years.