The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) awarded $113,138 in grants to 52 educators within the District as part of the Splash! school grant program. The program provides up to $3,000 per school to enhance student knowledge of freshwater resources in grades K-12.

Splash! grants encourage hands-on student learning through STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) activities as well as engagement of the greater school community through awareness campaigns. Each school district allocates a portion of their annual youth education funding provided by the District to support the Splash! grants in their county. 

The District awarded grants to the following schools/teachers in its northern region:

• Central High School – Rachel Kingdom (Hernando)
• Citrus Springs Middle School – Alberta Okoro (Citrus)
• Dunnellon Elementary School – Nancy Garvin (Marion)
• Harbour View Elementary School – Melissa Leon (Marion)
• South Sumter High School – Stephanie Yarbrough (Sumter)
• Sumter P.R.E.P. Academy – Robert A. Piwowar (Sumter)
• Webster Elementary School – Brandon Cockayne (Sumter)
• Wildwood Elementary School – Paul Mannino (Sumter)
• Wildwood Middle High School – Brittny Sanders (Sumter)
• Williston Middle-High School – Kristen Brown (Levy)

Grants are available to support water education programs and activities that are  focused on water cycle basics, freshwater or estuarian ecosystems, water quality and water conservation. For more information, please visit the District’s website at WaterMatters.org/SchoolGrants.

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board will hold its monthly meeting Tuesday, Oct. 28 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’s (District) Chito Branch Reserve in Hillsborough County will be temporarily closed to the public for feral hog hunts Oct. 28-30.

Only permitted hunters will be allowed on the property during these dates. All 10 permits for these hunts have been sold.

Chito Branch Reserve is located at 11254 Browning Road in Lithia.

This activity is one of a series of feral hog hunts being held on District lands to control the damage being caused to the natural habitats.

The District only allows hogs to be controlled through hunts when the damage they cause exceeds unacceptable levels, and damage is occurring more frequently and with increasing severity.

Feral hogs live throughout Florida in various habitats, but prefer moist forests and swamps, as well as pine flatwoods. They are omnivorous and feed by rooting with their broad snouts, which can cause extensive damage to the natural habitats. In fact, they can leave an area looking like a plowed field.

Feral hogs are not native to Florida and are believed to have been introduced by explorer Hernando DeSoto as early as 1539. They can weigh more than 150 pounds, measure over 5 feet in length and travel in herds with their offspring.

For more information, please call the District’s Land Management section at (813) 375-0665 or visit WaterMatters.org/HogHunts. 

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s (District) Alston Tract at Upper Hillsborough Preserve in Pasco County will be temporarily closed to the public for feral hog hunts Oct. 28-30

Only permitted hunters will be allowed on the property during these dates. All 11 permits for these hunts have been sold.

Alston Tract is located at 42144 Deems Road in Zephyrhills.

This activity is one of a series of feral hog hunts being held on District lands to control the damage being caused to the natural habitats.

The District only allows hogs to be controlled through hunts when the damage they cause exceeds unacceptable levels, and damage is occurring more frequently and with increasing severity.

Feral hogs live throughout Florida in various habitats, but prefer moist forests and swamps, as well as pine flatwoods. They are omnivorous and feed by rooting with their broad snouts, which can cause extensive damage to the natural habitats. In fact, they can leave an area looking like a plowed field.

Feral hogs are not native to Florida and are believed to have been introduced by explorer Hernando DeSoto as early as 1539. They can weigh more than 150 pounds, measure over 5 feet in length and travel in herds with their offspring.

For more information, please call the District’s Land Management section at (813) 375-0665 or visit WaterMatters.org/HogHunts. 

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) is gathering information to improve identification of flood prone areas in Highlands County.

The District will provide a virtual public comment period now through Nov. 27 at WaterMatters.org/Floodplain for the public to view preliminary data for flood prone areas within the Sebring 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’s WMP Info Line at (352) 415-0974.