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The Sierra Club’s Florida Chapter presented the Osprey Award to Fritz Musselmann, land resources director for the Southwest Florida Water Management District, today at the District’s Governing Board meeting.The Osprey Award recognizes extraordinary efforts to promote or effect changes in policy or practice to protect or preserve Florida’s environment and is given annually to a government employee.Musselmann was recognized for his role in the acquisition of…
The Southwest Florida Water Management District is working with the City of Winter Haven to improve water quality in Lake Howard by treating stormwater runoff that flows into the lake.Lake Howard is a 628-acre lake located west of downtown Winter Haven and is one of 16 interconnected lakes known as the Southern Winter Haven Chain of Lakes, which is a State Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) Priority Water Body.During the past 10 years, the water quality in Lake…
Twenty-two Pinellas County teachers and seven private school teachers are among the educators who were awarded Splash! school grants through the "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/.This year 206 "Splash! grants(Splash! School Grants)":/education/schoolgrants were awarded to educators across "the District's 16-county region":/data/map.Mary Margaret Hull, lead communications coordinator, attributes the effectiveness of…
Did you know that outdoor water use can account for up to 50 percent of water consumed by households?While the "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":http://watermatters.org advocates "water conservation(Water conservation)":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/conservation/ year-round, an extra effort is being made to promote conservation throughout April. Governments and water management districts throughout the state have…
A stormwater treatment pond and diversion structure built adjacent to Lake Mariana will help improve water quality in the Polk County lake.
The water quality at Lake Mariana and the Winter Haven Chain of Lakes will begin to improve, thanks to a stormwater improvement project cooperatively funded by the District and Polk County.
Lake Mariana is a 500-acre lake located within the headwaters of the Winter Haven Chain of Lakes, which is a District Surface…
Award-Winning Restoration
A place where people used to illegally dump everything from scrap metal to household waste is the site of an award-winning restoration project. The joint project between SWIM, Hillsborough County’s resource management section and the District’s Davis Tract restoration project received the Hillsborough County Planning Commission’s top environmental award, the Award of Merit, 2002.
The 60-acre former landfill is part of the 354-acre…
Top: The finished baffle boxes at Lake Eva. Above: The Lake Menzie outfall before and after the restoration project.
Stormwater runoff from urban areas flowing into Lake Eva in Haines City and Lake Menzie in Dundee is 60 to 80 percent less polluted thanks to projects cooperatively funded by the District.
The two Polk County lakes were suffering from polluted runoff that flowed unchecked from urban areas. Since the local governments didn’t have the resources to…
One of the best places to take on actions that help protect water quality and conserve water resources is in your own yard. If you’re not allowed to or don’t have a yard, check in with your teachers to see if you and your friends can make positive changes right at school! Small changes outdoors can make a big difference in protecting Florida’s environment and keeping your local watershed healthy.
The number of people moving to Florida is growing every…
Guest speakers and songs will be featured at the 6th Annual Marion County Springs Festival, which is being held Saturday, Sept. 22, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Silver River State Park.A variety of experts will speak about Florida’s springs and springs protection during the festival, including Chris Zajac, an environmental scientist with the Southwest Florida Water Management District. Zajac will talk about the District’s projects on the Rainbow River. Other…
The "Southwest Florida Water Management District":http://currents.ad.swfwmd.net/ (District) invites the public to a workshop on Thursday, July 9 at 6:00 p.m. at the Regency Park Branch Library, located at 9701 Little Road in New Port Richey. The purpose of the workshop is to allow for public comment on proposed Minimum and Guidance Levels for Moon Lake. The Florida Legislature requires the District to set minimum flows and levels (MFLs) for priority water bodies within the…
Four volunteers and an equestrian group who work with the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Land Resources Volunteer Program were presented with the President’s Volunteer Service Award, a national honor that recognizes volunteer dedication and signifies that each volunteer has served the community and country with distinction.The volunteers received their awards Tuesday at the District’s January Governing Board meeting in Brooksville.Elizabeth…
The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board Tuesday approved a project that will reduce groundwater pumping at Royce Ranch.The project involves installing a weather station, soil moisture sensors and automated pump controls at the citrus farm owned by the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, which funds the purchase of state parks and other state lands. Royce Ranch is located in central Highlands County.Installing a weather station…
Eight Polk County projects were awarded Community Education Grants from the Southwest Florida Water Management District. The grants, which are up to $5,000 each, will help fund projects that provide communities the opportunity to learn about water resources.This year the District awarded 49 grants Districtwide for a total of $171,444. This is the 10th year Community Education Grants have been available.The overall goal of the Community Education Grant Program is to…
The Southwest Florida Water Management District's Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board has teamed up with the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, Pinellas County Animal Services, and the Humane Society of Pinellas to sponsor "Pooches for the Planet," which kicks off with an event this weekend.Started by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, the campaign promotes proper disposal of dog waste to prevent water pollution. Just like human waste, dog waste poses a threat to both public health and…
The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board Tuesday approved an agreement with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) for the restoration of the Sawgrass Lake Park Water Management Area.The 36-acre restoration site is located near the Skyway Trap and Skeet Club in southern Pinellas County. Tests conducted by the District and the FDEP indicate increased levels of lead and arsenic in the area the gun club used as a drop zone.In…
Left: Jason LaRoche, a District professional geologist and engineer, volunteered his time to gather seeds. Top: Mary Barnwell, District senior land management specialist, collects bags of seeds from volunteers at the preserve. Above: Volunteers spread out to collect seeds from a variety of natural grasses. Right: Butch DeVary, District senior heavy equipment operator, helped collect seeds during National Public Lands Day.
Picking up trash and planting trees are…
Left: District Governing Board Chair Todd Pressman speaks at the ceremony celebrating the 20-year restoration effort at Lake Maggiore. Center: Housh Ghovaee, District Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board member, releases fish into Lake Maggiore. Right: Aerial view of Lake Maggiore.
St. Petersburg’s largest lake, Lake Maggiore, was recently restocked with 100,000 fish to mark the successful completion of a 20-year restoration effort.
The restoration of the lake,…
From left: Teens pitch in to clean up the Hillsborough River; center: District staff were ready to answer questions during the post cleanup picnic; right: Maritza Rovira-Forino, Governing Board member and chair ex officio of the Northwest Hillsborough Basin Board, joined in with volunteers.
This November more than 1,000 volunteers descended upon the banks of the Hillsborough River and other Tampa waterways as part of the 19th Annual Mayor’s Hillsborough River…
An eagle scout, campground hosts and an equestrian group are among the volunteers honored Tuesday at the Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board meeting in Brooksville.The volunteers, who either take part in the District’s Land Resources Volunteer Program or the District’s Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) Program, received the President’s Volunteer Service Award, a national honor that recognizes volunteer dedication and…
Camping, hiking, boating, freshwater and saltwater fishing; a full range of outdoor activities are available at the District’s Chassahowitzka River and Coastal Swamps property in southwestern Citrus County.
Purchased in the early 1990s, the property is part of a large greenway of public lands that protects the…