Tampa Bay Water Permit Renewed for Additional 10 Years
The Governing Board has renewed Tampa Bay Water’s 90-million-gallon-per-day northern Tampa Bay consolidated water use permit for 10 years while requiring the water supplier to continue extensive environmental monitoring.
The consolidated permit renewal includes extensive environmental controls, monitoring and reporting. Some of the key components of the permit include:
- Requirements for when the regional reservoir is offline for repairs.
- Operations plan outlining how withdrawals will be made to minimize environmental stress.
- Environmental management plan to continue monitoring and assessing environmental systems in the northern Tampa Bay area.
- Mitigation programs for affected water bodies and wells.
- Reporting on water conservation efforts of Tampa Bay Water member governments.
- Permit recovery assessment plan that includes an evaluation of the water resource and environmental system recovery. This plan is due prior to the next permit renewal.
Tampa Bay Water provides water to Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties, as well as the cities of New Port Richey, St. Petersburg and Tampa.
Citrus, Marion Houses Certified Florida Water StarSM
Homes in Citrus and Marion counties have received Florida Water StarSM (FWS) certifications from the District.
A home in the Heritage subdivision was certified FWS Gold, the highest FWS certification awarded by the District. Built by Rusaw Homes by Pinecrest Building Corp., the home is the first in Citrus County to receive the water-saving certification.
Two homes are the first in Marion County to receive the second-tier FWS Silver certifications from the District. They are located in the Renaissance neighborhood of Ocala’s On Top of the World development.
FWS is a voluntary certification program for builders, developers and homeowners. It encourages water efficiency in appliances, plumbing fixtures, irrigation systems and landscapes. Builders can meet the FWS Silver or higher Gold standard, depending upon the level of water savings the house achieves.
Land Managers Evaluate Properties for Hunting Opportunities
District Land Resources Department staff are evaluating District lands to determine if additional hunting opportunities can be made available.
The District allowed hunting on 10 properties, totaling 133,000 acres, during the 2009–2010 hunting season. District staff developed criteria, such as property size, accessibility and adjoining land uses, to evaluate properties that are not currently being hunted. The criteria were presented at a public meeting in Tampa earlier this year and interested stakeholders were encouraged to provide feedback.
District and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission staff will begin by evaluating eight properties that are solely owned and managed by the District.
You can find out about hunting on District lands and follow the process of evaluating more properties for hunting opportunities by visiting the District’s website at WaterMatters.org/hunting/ .