The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) received more than $2.4 million in funding from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to assist with aquifer testing, feasibility, and preliminary design for the planned Southeast and West Polk Lower Floridan Aquifer (LFA) wellfields in Polk County. The projects are cooperatively funded between the District and the Polk Regional Water Cooperative (PRWC). Traditional water sources are nearing their sustainable limits in Polk County and alternative water sources will need to be developed to meet the projected needs.

"Addressing water quantity challenges requires aggressively pursuing projects that will develop the water supply resources needed to meet our state's growing demand," said DEP Secretary Noah Valenstein. "DEP is proud to partner on these projects that will help ensure a safe and sustainable water supply for this region."

The Southeast LFA wellfield is planned for a location near the eastern boundary of the District in Polk County south of Highway 60. The water treatment facility site is north of Highway 60, and up to 15 wells will be spread along a 10-mile line south of the highway. The goal of this project is to use the brackish groundwater from the LFA in Southeast Polk County as an alternative water supply. The Southeast wellfield is a permitted supply, and after treatment through reverse osmosis, may deliver up to 30 million gallons per day (mgd) of high-quality drinking water to member governments of the PRWC.

The West Polk LFA brackish water treatment facility site is planned for a location within the City of Lakeland, south of Interstate 4, near the existing T.B. Williams water treatment facility site. The wellfield may have up to 19 wells within or near the city. The goal of this project is to utilize the brackish groundwater from the LFA in western Polk County as an alternative water supply. After treatment, the West Polk wellfield may deliver up to 15 mgd of high-quality drinking water to the member governments of the PRWC.

The District’s Governing Board has committed $65 million to incentivize the development of regional alternative water supplies within Polk County. To date, the District, FDEP and PRWC have provided more than $20 million in funding to assist with exploratory drilling, aquifer and water quality testing, and the conceptual and preliminary design stages of these projects.

The PRWC includes elected officials from 16 member governments, consisting of 15 municipalities and Polk County Government. Their role is to proactively identify alternative water resources and projects that ensure the future sustainability of the regional water supply.

The Southwest Florida Water Management District District) is seeking public input about the order in which minimum flows and levels (MFLs) for lakes, wetlands, rivers, streams and aquifers in the District will be determined. Legislation requires the District to review and, if necessary, revise this schedule each year.

Following the directive in the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Emergency Order to conduct all public meetings electronically to reduce the spread of COVID-19, the public meeting for the annual update of the District’s Minimum Flows and Levels Priority List and Schedule will be held virtually via Microsoft Teams from 5:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. Aug. 26. The workshop will provide an important opportunity for local governments, residents and the public to be part of the scheduling of minimum flows and levels for priority water bodies. To join the meeting via Teams, please click here. You can also use this URL to join the meeting: https://bit.ly/39knER3. Use of the Chrome browser is recommended for best compatibility with Teams.

To join the meeting by telephone only, dial 1-786-749-6127 and when prompted enter the conference ID: 765 147 391#.

A minimum flow or level is the limit at which further water withdrawals will cause significant harm to the water resources or environment. The District’s Governing Board sets these limits 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 2019 is available on the District’s website here. The draft 2020 list will be published on the site following the Governing Board’s August meeting. The revised schedule will be considered for approval at the Board’s meeting in October.

Written comments on the draft priority list and schedule may be submitted to Doug Leeper, MFLs Program Lead, at doug.leeper@watermatters.org or to 2379 Broad Street, Brooksville, Florida, 34604 no later than Sept. 23.

For more information, please contact Doug Leeper at 1-800-423-1476, ext. 4272.

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) is gathering information to improve identification of flood prone areas in Manatee County. The District will provide virtual outreach now through Sept. 20 at WaterMatters.org/Floodplain for the public to view preliminary data for flood prone areas within the Pearce Drain/Gap Creek Watershed. The website will present preliminary data for flood prone areas and the public will have the opportunity to submit comments.

After addressing the public comments, information will be finalized and presented to the District’s Governing Board for approval to use the data for regulatory purposes. This information is not currently being incorporated into the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps (DFIRMs); however, it may be used in future DFIRM updates.

The information which identifies areas prone to flooding can be used by local governments for land use and zoning decisions, to help manage development in and around floodplains and wetlands, to reduce flood risks, to preserve land and water resources, and for emergency planning. It will also provide valuable information to the public for decisions about purchasing and protecting property.

For more information or to find out which watershed you live in, please visit WaterMatters.org/Floodplain or call the District at (352) 796-7211, ext. 4297.

The Southwest Florida Water Management District's (District) Governing Board voted to decrease property taxes by adopting a proposed rolled-back millage rate of 0.2669 mill for the fiscal year 2021 budget.

The millage rate is more than 4.7% lower than the current fiscal year adopted millage rate of 0.2801 mill, a savings to taxpayers of approximately $6 million.

For the owner of a $150,000 home with a $50,000 homestead exemption, the District tax would be $26.69 a year, or about $2.22 per month.

The total fiscal year 2021 proposed budget for the District is $179.1 million and includes $65.5 million for Cooperative Funding Initiatives and District grants.

Through these cooperative funding partnerships, District funds will be leveraged resulting in a total regional investment of more than $119 million for sustainable alternative water supply development, water quality improvements, and other water resource management projects. The fiscal year runs from Oct. 1, 2020, through Sept. 30, 2021.

The District will hold a tentative budget hearing on Sept. 8 at 5:01 p.m. at the Tampa Service Office, located at 7601 U.S. Highway 301.

The Governing Board will vote on the final budget on Sept. 22 at 5:01 p.m., at the Tampa Service Office.

Two Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) projects received funding from the Central Florida Water Initiative (CFWI) conservation cost-share program. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) will provide $151,758 to pay for these projects.

The following projects, located in Polk County, are estimated to save approximately 49,500 million gallons per day:

• The Polk Regional Water Cooperative’s rebate program will offer various conservation incentives, including approximately 100 high-efficiency toilets and 15 smart irrigation controllers, for an estimated total savings of 8.5 million gallons per year.
• The Ray Bob Grove Inc.’s project will involve the installation of hydraulic control valves to automate irrigation zones within the citrus grove to improve irrigation efficiency for an estimated total savings of 9.58 million gallons per year.

“DEP is proud to award the Southwest Florida Water Management District funding for projects that will promote technological innovation and cost savings for the average Floridian,” said DEP Deputy Secretary Adam Blalock. “On the surface these may seem like small projects but saving nearly 50,000 gallons of water per day is huge for both Florida’s quality of water and water supply. Small steps build up over time, and we need to keep taking important steps forward like these to preserve Florida’s water supply.”  

The CFWI encompasses five counties: Orange, Osceola, Polk, Seminole and southern Lake. Through the CFWI, three water management districts — South Florida, Southwest Florida and St. Johns River — 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. To learn more, please visit cfwiwater.com.

Today the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) announced the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will provide $638,550 to a new, 880-foot deep monitoring well in the District’s Most Impacted Area (MIA) of the Southern Water Use Caution Area (SWUCA) in Hillsborough County. District scientists will use data collected from the new well to better assess aquifer system dynamics, enhance groundwater modeling and determine potential water withdrawal-related impacts to the SWUCA and MIA.

DEP Deputy Secretary Adam Blalock stated, “The District continues to be a trusted partner in our mission to protect Florida’s water quality and preserve our state’s natural resources. Today’s announcement is indicative of the Department’s valued partnership with the District and the importance of fostering a proactive approach to identifying critical infrastructure to bolster our combined environmental enhancement efforts.”

The SWUCA is an eight-county, 5,000 square mile area extending from Hillsborough and Polk counties in the north to Charlotte County in the south. It was established in response to District studies which indicated that overuse and the resulting saltwater intrusion threatened groundwater resources there.

The well is a valuable addition to the Coastal Groundwater Quality Monitoring Network that the District has maintained and sampled as a groundwater resource monitoring initiative since 1991. The network currently includes over 400 wells and monitors all aquifers used for water supply purposes in the District.

Setting prescribed fires in controlled settings can reduce the risk of wildfires burning out of control, as many Floridians witnessed during the state’s wildfire emergency in 2017.

That’s why the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will be conducting prescribed burns June through September at the Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve, which includes the Green Swamp East Tract in Polk, Sumter and Lake counties, the Hampton Tract in Polk County, and the Green Swamp West Tract in Pasco County.

The Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve is located north of U.S. Highway 98 along Highway 471 and Rockridge Road between Lakeland and Dade City. Approximately 11,800 acres will be burned in small, manageable units.

Some primary benefits of prescribed fire include:

• Reducing overgrown plants, which decreases the risk of catastrophic wildfires.
• Promoting plant diversity.
• Maintaining the character and condition of wildlife habitat.
• Maintaining access for public recreation.

Click here to see aerial footage from a prescribed fire in Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve where District land management staff burned 320 acres.