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Maritza Rovira-Forino, Governing Board member, assists visitors at the District’s display. The District celebrated the Hillsborough River and the Hillsborough River watershed by holding a series of events along the river during “Hillsborough River Watershed Awareness Week” in October. The District’s Hillsborough River Basin Board and the participating city and county governments declared the week of October 20–27 as Hillsborough River Watershed Awareness Week…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be conducting “controlled, prescribed burns” during June, July and August on the District’s Upper Hillsborough property in Pasco and Polk counties.The Upper Hillsborough property is approximately 2 miles east of Zephyrhills. The scheduled, managed burns are a part of routine maintenance of lands managed by the District. Approximately 300 acres of land will be burned in small, manageable units.According…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Alston Tract, which is part of the Upper Hillsborough property, will be closed to the public Jan. 9-11. The District is limiting access to the property for an event that allows disabled hunters the opportunity to experience the outdoors during a muzzleloader gun hunt.The Alston Tract is located east of Zephyrhills in Pasco and Polk counties. The entrance is off S.R. 39.The event is organized by Outdoors Without Limits…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District recently approved a project that will reduce groundwater pumping in Charlotte County.This project is for Ben Hill Griffin Inc., C & S Grove, a 1,665-acre citrus grove in the Shell Creek watershed. The grove is also located within the Southern Water Use Caution Area (SWUCA).The primary goal of the project is to reduce groundwater pumping from the Intermediate and Upper Floridan aquifers by irrigating 80 percent of the grove…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Alston Tract, which is part of the Upper Hillsborough, will be reserved Nov. 4-6 for an event that allows disabled hunters the opportunity to experience the outdoors. The property will be closed to the public during this time.The hunt, which is organized by the National Wild Turkey Federation/Wheelin’ Sportsmen, is one of more than 24 events the group holds throughout Florida each year. Other outings include…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board today approved a project that will reduce groundwater pumping at a citrus grove in Polk County.The project involves installing an integrated irrigation system that will include a weather station, soil moisture sensors, and automated valves at the Camp Mack Grove, owned by Lykes Brothers, Inc. The grove is located northeast of Lake Wales.Installing a weather station helps farmers irrigate more precisely, based…

There are a variety of different programs that FARMS supports including:Well Back-PluggingThe Well Back-Plugging Program addresses water quality problems that result from agricultural users pumping poor water quality from deep zones of the Upper Floridan aquifer.This program is implemented throughout the SWUCA but primarily focuses on the Shell, Prairie and Joshua Creek watersheds…

Approximately 15 disabled hunters are expected to participate in a Hog Still Hunt, Feb. 2-4, on the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Alston Tract, which is part of the Upper Hillsborough. The event is organized by the National Wild Turkey Federation/Wheelin’ Sportsmen.The Alston Tract is located east of Zephyrhills in Pasco and Polk counties. The entrance is off S.R. 39. The property will be closed to the public during the event.This hunt is one of…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Alston Tract, which is part of the Upper Hillsborough Tract, will be reserved Dec. 1-3 for an event that allows disabled hunters the opportunity to experience the outdoors. The property will be closed to the public during this time.The Alston Tract is located east of Zephyrhills in Pasco and Polk Counties. The entrance is off S.R. 39.The hunt is a joint effort between the District and the National Wild Turkey Federation/…

Myakka Prairie is managed as a part of the Myakka River State Park and is part of a 100-square-mile regional area of contiguous and natural publicly protected lands. The Myakka River State Park borders the property on the north and west, and…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be treating infestations of hydrilla on the Rainbow River in Marion County Nov. 12-14. The section of the river to be treated is the upper portion of the river from the Blue Cove area to just upstream of KP Hole ParkTreatment involves the application of the aquatic herbicide Aquathol Super K. Treatment areas will be posted with warning signs displaying treatment dates and applicable restrictions. Water from the treated…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board recently adopted minimum flows for portions of the Alafia and Myakka rivers, along with minimum and guidance levels for five lakes.The 5 lakes include: Lakes Allen, Harvey and Virginia in Hillsborough County; Lake June-In-Winter in Highlands County; and Lake Parker in Polk County.A minimum flow or level is the limit at which further water withdrawals will cause significant harm to the water resources and…

Latest Information

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District ":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/ (District) is gathering information to improve the identification of flood prone areas in Polk County's Upper Peace River-Homeland watershed. Residents living in the watershed are invited to attend an open house on Wednesday, October 29, 2014 beginning at 4:00 p.m. The meeting will take place at the Bartow Public Library on the 2nd floor, located at 2150 S. Broadway Ave. in Bartow.District…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board Tuesday approved a project that will reduce groundwater pumping in DeSoto County.Project partner Island Grove Agricultural Products’ Farm #5 is located along S.R. 763 in the Hawthorne Creek watershed. This watershed drains to Joshua Creek and is approximately 14 miles upstream of the Peace River, in the Shell, Prairie, and Joshua Creek Priority Area. This area is also part of the District’s…

 Deer Prairie Creek Preserve was jointly acquired by the District and Sarasota County and lies between I-75 and US 41. The Schewe Tract, which lies both north and south of I-75, is managed by the District. The property was acquired to protect the floodplain of the river and the water quality of the water sources within the region.The dominant natural communities are pine flatwoods, mixed hardwood and pine, and wetland hardwoods. A portion of the tract was utilized for…

The Hillsborough River watershed begins in the Green Swamp and travels south until it meets Tampa Bay.The Hillsborough River watershed encompasses more than 675 square miles.The Hillsborough River watershed includes parts of Hillsborough, Pasco and Polk counties.There are four sub-basins within the Hillsborough River watershed: Blackwater Creek, Lake Thonotosassa/Flint Creek, Cypress Creek, and Mainstem (which includes the Upper, Middle, and Lower stretches of the river).The…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District issued a water shortage emergency order for the Peace River/Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority to protect the drinking water supply for more than 250,000 residents.The executive order signed Friday will allow the Authority to use its two existing aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) wellfields to pump groundwater once the treated water being stored in the wellfields is depleted.As of Jan. 7, the Authority had a total of 609…