The Choctawhatchee River and Bay watershed encompasses nearly 5,350 square miles and spans across portions of Northwest Florida and Southern Alabama. A total of six counties (Walton, Okaloosa, Holmes, Bay, Jackson, and Washington) in Florida and nine counties (Pike, Barbour, Coffee, Dale, Geneva, Houston, Henry, Covington and Bullock) in Alabama lie within the watershed. Choctawhatchee Bay is over 27 miles long and varies from one to six miles in width, with depths ranging from 10 to 43 feet. Principal tributaries in the watershed include the Choctawhatchee River, Pea River, Wrights Creek, Sandy Creek, Pine Log, Seven Run, Holmes Creek and Bruce Creeks. Surface water flow of the Choctawhatchee River is formed by the aforementioned tributaries as well as spring and the Floridan Aquifer groundwater contributions.

Choctawhatchee Bay connects directly with the Gulf of Mexico through the East Pass. The East Pass is a man-made channel regularly maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers and is located in Destin, Florida. Choctawhatchee Bay is contiguous to the Gulf via the Pensacola Pass. The Pensacola Pass is separated from the west side of the bay by 52 miles of Intracoastal Waterway.

Taken from the Northwest Florida Water Management District's "The Big Picture: Looking at the Choctawhatchee River and Bay", Public Information Bulletin 2002-03.