As the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) continues its efforts to protect the Weeki Wachee River, the public should be aware they may see District staff and contractors working in and along the river, including the portion deemed a springs protection zone. 

The District regularly conducts important work that helps protect the Weeki Wachee River. This includes:

Water Quality Data Collection – Water samples are collected quarterly by staff from numerous spring vents and at various points along the river. This information is available to the public and is used for various purposes such as modeling and establishing minimum flows as required by state law.   

Vegetation Management – Vegetation management specialists conduct targeted control of nuisance and invasive vegetation along the Weeki Wachee River. This includes both aquatic and land vegetation, and staff uses various methods depending on many factors. Vegetation management is important because invasive species can disrupt ecosystems, destroy wildlife habitats, hinder navigation by vessels and limit the natural movement of water. 

Land Management – The Weekiwachee Preserve borders several miles of the Weeki Wachee River. This property is part of the river’s springshed and helps capture and filter rainwater to the river. Land managers perform maintenance on the preserve’s shoreline such as plant maintenance and prescribed fires. 

Restoration Projects – The District performs restoration projects to restore or enhance an area to promote the preservation of natural and existing habitats. An example of this is the current Weeki Wachee Channel Restoration Project, which is removing accumulated sediments from targeted areas of the river to re-establish historic river depths where accumulated sediments have covered natural habitats. 

Mapping Submerged Aquatic Vegetation – District scientists use 22 sampling locations to evaluate submerged aquatic vegetation in the Weeki Wachee River. Data collection has occurred at these locations since the late 1990s and helps scientists assess the health of the river. 

These activities are critical in supporting the District’s mission to protect our spring systems. For example, data collected for decades at the Weeki Wachee River is used by the District and other stakeholders to make critical management decisions, some of which support Florida laws. 

The benefits of this work have tremendous public value because they ultimately help protect the ecology of the river.

Visit WaterMatters.org/ProtectWeeki for more information about our efforts to protect the river. 

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will host career and student internship fairs to share information about the many career fields and employment opportunities at the District.

The fairs will take place from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Aug. 23 at the District’s Tampa Service Office, located at 7601 U.S. Hwy. 301 N. in Tampa and Aug. 30 at the District’s Brooksville Headquarters, located at 2379 Broad Street in Brooksville.

The District offers a wide variety of careers and student internships, including administrative, business, accounting, finance, maintenance and trades, engineering, information technology, procurement, legal, environmental science and more. District staff will be on-site and available to speak with individuals interested in opportunities. 

The Human Resources Office will also offer training opportunities in career planning to provide tips with resume writing and insight into the District application and interview process. Sessions will take place at 9:30, 10:30 and 11:30 a.m.

The District is a government agency that employs a diverse workforce from across a wide variety of disciplines, including administrative, business and finance, trades work, mechanical, heavy equipment operation, well drilling, natural sciences and engineering, and many more. 

To see available opportunities, please visit WaterMatters.org/Careers.

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) has activated the Tampa Bypass Canal System in response to heavy rains from Tropical Storm Debby to help protect the cities of Temple Terrace and Tampa from river flooding.

The Hillsborough River has reached the activation criteria and the District has closed Structure S-155 as of 6 p.m. tonight. The Hillsborough Flood Detention Area (HFDA) is now considered activated, and the empty reservoir will begin to fill with floodwaters. This action stops all or part of the flow of the Hillsborough River before it reaches the cities of Temple Terrace and Tampa and stores it in the HFDA. The stored water can then be safely moved down to McKay Bay using the Tampa Bypass Canal. The Hillsborough River will still receive a significant amount of water from downstream tributary Cypress Creek and local runoff. 

Earlier today, the District closed navigation on the Hillsborough River at Structure S-155 to meet Federal safety standards. Due to the high velocity of water from Tropical Storm Debby, boat barriers were put in place where I-75 crosses the Hillsborough River, restricting navigation in that area. The S-155 structure is located north of Morris Bridge Road and east of I-75. It can be seen from I-75 as you cross the Hillsborough River.

The Tampa Bypass Canal System, constructed in response to massive flooding caused by Hurricane Donna in 1960, and is made up of three elements: the Hillsborough Flood Detention Area (HFDA) or reservoir, the Tampa Bypass Canal and the Harney Canal. Floodwaters from the Hillsborough River are impounded into the 16,000-acre HFDA. As the reservoir fills with floodwaters from the river and the surrounding 450-square-mile watershed, the flows then enter the 15.7-mile Tampa Bypass Canal, which has five flood control structures located along the canal. The flows are then safely diverted to McKay Bay, protecting the cities of Temple Terrace and Tampa from river flooding.

In addition to providing flood control, the Tampa Bypass Canal also serves as a water supply source to help meet the drinking water needs of the Tampa Bay area. 

For more information on the Tampa Bypass Canal System, visit WaterMatters.org/projects/tampa-bypass-canal-system.

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) is closing navigation on the Hillsborough River at Structure S-155 to meet Federal safety standards.

Due to the high velocity of water from Tropical Storm Debby, boat barriers will be put in place where I-75 crosses the Hillsborough River, restricting navigation in that area. The S-155 structure is part of the Tampa Bypass Canal System and located north of Morris Bridge Road and east of I-75. It can be seen from I-75 as you cross the Hillsborough River.

The Hillsborough River is approximately 1.0 foot below the water level that would result in the closing of S-155, which would begin to fill the Hillsborough Flood Detention Area. The District is continuing to monitor water levels resulting from Tropical Storm Debby.

The Tampa Bypass Canal System, constructed in response to massive flooding caused by Hurricane Donna in 1960, and is made up of three elements: the Hillsborough Flood Detention Area (HFDA) or Reservoir, the Tampa Bypass Canal and the Harney Canal. Flood waters from the Hillsborough River are impounded into the 16,000-acre HFDA. As the reservoir fills with water from the river and the surrounding 450-square-mile watershed, the flows then enter the 15.7-mile Tampa Bypass Canal, which is made up of five flood control structures located along the canal. The flows are then safely diverted to McKay Bay, protecting the cities of Temple Terrace and Tampa from river flooding.

For more information on the Tampa Bypass Canal System, visit WaterMatters.org/projects/tampa-bypass-canal-system.

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) has released as much water out of Lake Tarpon as possible, however storm surge from Hurricane Debby is overtopping the structure and water cannot be released until the storm surge recedes.

The Lake Tarpon Outfall Canal is one of 84 water-control structures throughout the District’s 16-county area. The three-mile canal extends from the south end of Lake Tarpon and empties into Old Tampa Bay. The structure is designed to prevent salt water from entering Lake Tarpon during high tides and protects the lake’s freshwater ecology.

Lake Tarpon rose over 18 inches overnight and is continuing to rise. The storm surge has been higher than the lake since 11 a.m. yesterday and there is no way to release water until the storm surge goes out. The lake also has received over 6.5 inches of rain as well as high flows from Brooker Creek.

District Structure Operations staff have been monitoring water levels and operating all of the agency’s water-control structures around the clock.

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will close all District-managed campgrounds and properties to include trails and day use areas throughout its 16-county region Saturday, Aug. 3, at 11 a.m., in anticipation of impacts from Potential Tropical Cyclone 4.

Additionally, the District is in the process of canceling all existing camping reservations through Tuesday, Aug. 6.

For the most updated information, please visit the District’s website at WaterMatters.org. 

As a reminder, you can follow along for immediate updates on social media at X.com/SWFWMD or Twitter.com/SWFWMD.