Governor Ron DeSantis appointed Joshua Gamblin and reappointed John Mitten and Michelle Williamson to the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board. Gamblin represents DeSoto, Hardee and Highlands counties, Mitten represents Hernando and Marion counties, and Williamson represents Hillsborough County. 

Gamblin, of Arcadia, is the ranch manager of Stolen Saddle Ranch. He earned his bachelor’s degree in natural resource management in wildlife from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and his master’s degree in forest resources and species conservation from the University of Florida. Gamblin is appointed to a four-year term ending March 1, 2028.

Mitten, of Brooksville, was appointed to the Governing Board in October 2020. He is the franchise owner of Chick-fil-A in Spring Hill. He earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from Florida State University. Mitten is reappointed to a four-year term ending March 1, 2028. Mitten serves as vice chair of the Governing Board.

Williamson, of Dover, was appointed to the Governing Board in December 2020. She previously served on the Board from August 2016 to August 2020. Williamson is the manager of G & F Farms. She received her associate degree from Hillsborough Community College. Williamson is reappointed to a four-year term ending March 1, 2028. Williamson serves as chair of the Governing Board. 

The appointments are subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.

Governing Board members are unpaid, citizen volunteers who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Florida Senate. The Governing Board sets policy for the District, whose mission is to manage the water and related resources of west central Florida to meet the needs of current and future water users while protecting the environment.

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) Governing Board voted today to extend one-day-per-week watering restrictions again for Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties until Dec. 31 due to ongoing efforts to refill the regional reservoir.

Citrus, DeSoto, Hardee, Hernando, Manatee, Polk, Sarasota and Sumter counties; portions of Charlotte, Highlands and Lake counties; the City of Dunnellon and The Villages in Marion County; and the portion of Gasparilla Island in Lee County will return to the District’s Year-Round Water Conservation Measures, or twice-per-week-watering, as of Sept. 2. Some local governments such as unincorporated Citrus, Hernando and Sarasota counties, and the cities of Dunedin, Tampa and Venice, have local ordinances that remain on one-day-per-week schedules.

The District Governing Board declared a Modified Phase I Water Shortage Order in November 2023 and voted to extend that order in February and again in June. At the end of July, the District had a 12-month rainfall deficit of about 5.1 inches. Provisional data indicate Districtwide rainfall through Aug. 21, which includes Tropical Storm Debby, is above average, which will help reduce the 12-month deficit. However, Tampa Bay Water’s 15.5-billion-gallon C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir is still approximately 7.5 billion gallons below its capacity.

The District also approved a request today from Tampa Bay Water to modify their existing emergency order for the Alafia River to help refill the reservoir. The modified order will temporarily increase the maximum day withdrawal limit from 60 million gallons per day to 75 million gallons per day when additional flow is available above the river’s minimum flow. The order has been extended to March 31, 2025.

Once-per-week lawn watering days and times are as follows unless your city or county has a different schedule or stricter hours in effect:

• If your address (house number) ends in...
  • ...0 or 1, water only on Monday
  • ...2 or 3, water only on Tuesday
  • ...4 or 5, water only on Wednesday
  • ...6 or 7, water only on Thursday
  • ...8 or 9*, water only on Friday
  • * and locations without a discernible address
• Unless your city or county already has stricter hours in effect, properties under two acres in size may only water before 8 a.m. or after 6 p.m.
• Unless your city or county already has stricter hours in effect, properties two acres or larger may only water before 10 a.m. or after 4 p.m.
• Low-volume watering of plants and shrubs (micro-irrigation, soaker hoses, hand watering) is allowed any day and any time.

The order also requires local utilities to review and implement procedures for enforcing water shortage restrictions, including reporting enforcement activity to the District.

The District’s Year-Round Water Conservation Measures, or twice-per-week watering, focuses on allowable irrigation practices, including lawn and landscape watering, that are in place when there is no drought or other declared water shortage. The District recommends practices to reduce wasteful irrigation habits and to help condition lawns for drought survival.

For additional information, visit the District’s website WaterMatters.org/Restrictions. For water conserving tips, visit WaterMatters.org/Water101.

The Southwest Florida Water Management District, St. Johns River Water Management District and South Florida Water Management District have scheduled a virtual joint public meeting at 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 6, to solicit stakeholder input on each district’s annual update of their priority list and schedule for the establishment of minimum flows and water levels as well as water reservations.

Participants can join the virtual meeting at https://tinyurl.com/4p8zsv3d.

This workshop is being held to promote consistent water resource planning in the Central Florida Water Initiative (CFWI) planning area. The CFWI encompasses five counties: Orange, Osceola, Polk, Seminole and southern Lake. 

Through the CFWI, the three water management districts are working collaboratively with other agencies and stakeholders to implement effective water resource planning, including water resource and supply development and management strategies to protect, conserve and restore our water resources.

For more information on the CFWI, visit cfwiwater.com.

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board will hold its monthly meeting Tuesday, Aug. 27 at 9 a.m. at District Headquarters, located at 2379 Broad Street in Brooksville. 

To view the Governing Board meeting online, click on the live video stream link. The video stream link becomes active and the live video feed begins approximately 15 minutes before the scheduled meeting time.

Public comment will be taken only at the meeting location. Public input for issues not listed on the published agenda will be heard shortly after the meeting begins.

The meeting agenda and materials are posted one week before the meeting and can be found online at WaterMatters.org by clicking on the “Meeting & Events Calendar.” 

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) is seeking public input to determine the priority of minimum flows and levels (MFLs) establishment for lakes, wetlands, rivers, streams and aquifers in the District as well as the establishment of water reservations. Legislation requires the District to review and, if necessary, revise this schedule each year.

The District will hold a virtual public meeting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 29. Members of the public can join the meeting via Microsoft Teams. To join the meeting, please click on this link to register https://bit.ly/MFLPriority. Use of the Chrome browser is recommended for best compatibility with Teams.

To join the meeting by telephone only, dial (786) 749-6127 and when prompted enter the conference ID: 121-548-175#.

A minimum flow or level is the limit at which further water withdrawals will cause significant harm to the water resources or environment. A water reservation defines a quantity of water set aside from the water use permitting process for the protection of fish and wildlife or public health and safety. The District’s Governing Board establishes MFLs and reservations as part of achieving the balance between meeting water needs and sustaining Florida’s natural systems.

The adopted minimum flows and levels priority list and schedule for 2023 is available on the District’s website here. The draft 2024 list will be published on the site following the Governing Board’s Aug. 27 meeting and will be considered for approval at the Board’s Oct. 22 meeting.

Written comments on the draft priority list and schedule may be submitted to Gabe Herrick, Lead Environmental Scientist, at gabe.herrick@watermatters.org or to 2379 Broad Street, Brooksville, FL, 34604, no later than Sept. 7. 

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) has deactivated the Tampa Bypass Canal System and the Hillsborough Flood Detention Area (HFDA) as water levels in the Hillsborough River have declined following Tropical Storm Debby.

The District opened Structure S-155 over the weekend and the boat barriers are being removed today, restoring navigation on the Hillsborough River. The S-155 structure is located north of Morris Bridge Road and east of I-75 and can be seen from I-75 as you cross the Hillsborough River.

On Aug. 7, the District 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 Tampa Bypass Canal System, constructed in response to massive flooding caused by Hurricane Donna in 1960, and is made up of three elements: the Lower Hillsborough Flood Detention Area (LHFDA) 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.

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.

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.