Henry Dean, South Florida Water Management District Director, is offering $10 million on top of the $5 million Orange County chairman Rich Crotty is planning to request for the conservation project.

Dean, a former district director of the St. Johns Water Management District, is challenging that sister agency to contribute as well. But St. Johns Water officials tell county commissioners at a public hearing Dean's campaign is news to them and that the agency's strategy on conservation follows a different path.

Dean told commissioners he envisions a partnership comprised of the county, the state Department of Environmental Protection and the two water agencies that share responsibility for Orange County.