Seawalls on the Butler Chain in Windermere

The Butler Chain Is an Outstanding Florida Water

DEP's rule 62-302.700 (opens in a new tab) lists the Butler Chain of Lakes as an Outstanding Florida Water: Lake Butler, Lake Down, Wauseon Bay, Lake Louise, Lake Palmer (also known as Lake Isleworth), Lake Chase, Lake Tibet, Lake Sheen, Pocket Lake, Fish Lake and the waterways that connect them (designated March 1, 1984), plus Lake Blanche and its connecting waterway (added February 18, 1987).

The rule states that DEP's policy is to afford Outstanding Florida Waters the highest protection, and the designation changes two things a lakefront owner will notice:

• A stricter state test. Under section 373.414, F.S. (opens in a new tab), an activity within an Outstanding Florida Water that needs a state environmental resource permit must be shown to be clearly in the public interest, rather than simply not contrary to it.
• No state access-corridor exemption. FWC's rule 68F-20.0035 (opens in a new tab) lets riparian owners on freshwater lakes physically or mechanically clear an access corridor without an FWC permit, but that exemption does not apply in aquatic preserves or Outstanding Florida Waters. Check with FWC (opens in a new tab) before removing aquatic plants on the chain.

Town Limits or Unincorporated: Who Reviews Your Shoreline

Before anything else, confirm whether your parcel is inside the Town of Windermere or in unincorporated Orange County; a mailing address alone may not tell you. Different codes can apply.

• Docks: Orange County's Natural Resource Permits guide (opens in a new tab) says owners in unincorporated Orange County, Oakland, Ocoee and Windermere need a permit from the county's Environmental Protection Division (EPD) plus a building permit for any new dock, and that repairs or additions generally need a permit too.
• Seawalls and riprap: the county's Shoreline Alteration/Dredge and Fill (SADF) permit covers seawalls and riprap in unincorporated Orange County. We could not open the Town of Windermere's code for this guide, so if your lot is inside town limits, ask both the Town and EPD which approvals apply.
• State and regional: DEP's Central District handles state environmental resource permits in Orange County. The county is split between the St. Johns River and South Florida water management districts, so confirm which one covers your lake.

What Orange County's Shoreline Alteration Permit Requires

Orange County says a shoreline alteration permit may be required to install a seawall or other structures that stabilize a shoreline, and is needed for dredging, filling, pumping sand or other changes to a lake's shoreline or bottom. Its guide says repairing or replacing an existing seawall generally requires a permit. The current application (opens in a new tab) (revised October 1, 2026) asks for:

1. 1Engineer-Prepared PlansA site plan prepared and signed by a professional engineer, with the lake name, the current water level and the normal high water elevation, bottom elevations or depths, shoreline length and existing and proposed structures.
2. 2Erosion and Sediment ControlsA description of sedimentation and erosion control measures used during construction, plus a survey with the work areas drawn to scale.
3. 3JustificationWritten answers on the project's effects on navigation, recreation, erosion, water flow, stagnant pockets, natural beauty, wildlife and aquatic plants.
4. 4Proof for a First WallWhere no wall has existed and none is on the adjacent property, an engineer's letter showing significant erosion and that a vertical seawall is the only practicable way to stabilize the shoreline.
5. 5Hearing and IssuanceOnce EPD finds the application complete (the form authorizes county site visits), a public hearing before the Board of County Commissioners, then a 30-day appeal period before the permit issues. The county says the permit is valid for one year.

The county notes that approved updates to its environmental permit fees, phased in over two years, take effect October 1, 2026, and that because SADF applications go to a public hearing, they generally take longer to issue. Build that time into any repair plan. See riprap revetments for how a stone toe works with a wall.

Plants, Access Corridors and Muck

Orange County lets a lakeshore owner keep a vegetation-free access corridor of 20 percent or 30 ft of total shoreline, whichever is greater, without a county permit, and says docks generally belong in that corridor. Removing nuisance or exotic plants beyond it, or in an adjacent shoreline wetland, needs a county Lakeshore Protection Permit, which requires replanting to 80 percent coverage of native aquatic plants. Removing muck or dredging any lake bottom needs an SADF permit. On the Butler Chain, remember that FWC's own access-corridor exemption does not apply.

Planning a Repair on the Chain

Florida Bulk Head is building a network of licensed regional marine contractors, and no participating contractor is confirmed in the Windermere area yet. We accept project inquiries and connect owners with a qualified participating contractor when one is available, subject to availability. Barefoot Marine Construction does not perform work in this region. See the Central Florida Lakes guide and the Winter Park page for nearby rules.