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As more people focus on their lawns and landscaping this time of year, the "Southwest Florida Water Management District":http://www.watermatters.org promotes "Florida-friendly fertilizing":http://WaterMatters.org/fertilizing practices.Florida-friendly fertilizing is an annual campaign encouraging residents to responsibly maintain their lawns.Recent studies have shown rising nitrate levels in many local water bodies can be traced to fertilizer. Nitrate is a form of nitrogen…

April 2025Q: What is a spring?A: A spring occurs when groundwater that is under pressure flows through natural cracks in the aquifer and creates a natural opening in the ground. The pressure causes the water to flow from the aquifer to the earth’s surface. Our groundwater is the result of seasonal rainfall that soaks into the ground and into the aquifer. Springs can occur as an individual vent but more often as many…

Thirteen Sumter County teachers are among the record number of educators who applied for and received Splash! mini-grants through the Southwest Florida Water Management District.This year the District awarded Splash! mini-grants to 209 educators totaling more than $413,000. That’s 72 more grant recipients than last year.Mary Margaret Hull, lead communications coordinator, attributes the increase in awardees to an increase in promotion among the District’s school…

The Florida Yard Fandango is returning to the Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI) this spring. The event is being held March 10 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This is the second year the District has been involved with the Fandango. The goal of this event is to promote Florida-friendly landscaping and lawn maintenance because it is beautiful and saves water, time and energy. Participants will have the opportunity to choose from 15 workshops, including core classes on the…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is encouraging people to log onto its web site to take the Watershed Pledge.The Watershed Pledge was created to encourage people to make a commitment to protecting their watershed. Making simple changes in and around their home can positively impact our water resources.A watershed is an area of land that water flows across as it moves toward a common body of water, such as a stream, river, lake or coast. A watershed is where…

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 workshop at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 28. Members of the public can…

March 2024Q:  What is a spring?A:  A spring occurs when groundwater that is under pressure flows through natural cracks in the aquifer and creates a natural opening in the ground. The pressure causes the water to flow from the aquifer to the earth’s surface. Our groundwater is the result of seasonal rainfall that soaks into the ground and into the aquifer. Springs can occur as an individual vent but more often as many…

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ is celebrating February as Florida Hiking Trails Month by inviting the public to "Get Outside!" and explore the more than 850 miles of hiking trails on District lands.The District has organized two "Get Outside!" guided hikes in February. District employees will guide three hikes at each property, with a maximum of 15 people on each hike. Hikers are encouraged to pre-register…

District staffers and Board members who participated in the Hillsborough River & Waterways Cleanup spent their Saturday cleaning up the shoreline at DeSoto Park on McKay Bay. More than a dozen District employees and Board members recently took part in one of Tampa’s largest volunteer events — the 20th Annual Mayor’s Hillsborough River & Waterways Cleanup. The District joined forces with more than 1,200 volunteers to scour the banks of the Hillsborough…

The Weekiwachee Preserve is an area of protected land owned by the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District). Covering over 11,200 acres, the preserve is in Hernando County. It provides a wide array of wildlife habitats, including several miles along the Weeki Wachee River, portions of the Mud River, dense hardwood swamps, freshwater and saltwater marshes and pine-…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board will hold its monthly meeting Tuesday, May 19 at 9 a.m. at the Tampa Service Office, located at 7601 U.S. Highway 301 North. 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…

Nine Marion County 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 the grant program in Marion County to the…

Seven Hernando County 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 the grant program in Hernando County to…

 A bay is a shallow body of salt water between a larger barrier island and the mainland. A barrier island is a long, narrow sandy island parallel to the shore. Palma Sola Bay is located between the barrier island of Anna Maria and the city of Bradenton.In the 1880s, a fishing village called “Cortez” was formed here and was bustling with fishermen. It's one of the last commercial fishing villages in Florida and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Tarpon,…

More than 90 tons of debris removed from area sinkholesThe Southwest Florida Water Management District has completed a three-year project to improve water quality in the District’s springs by removing debris from sinkholes and areas with high aquifer permeability.Over the three-year period, 90.77 tons of debris were removed from 18 sinkholes and other karst features in Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties. Some of the items removed from the sinkholes included shopping…

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ is encouraging residents who irrigate their lawns to take advantage of the summer rains and "watch the weather, wait to water."During the summer months of June, July, August and September, yards need no more than 3/4 inch of water every 2 to 3 days. If your lawn has received enough water from rainfall, then you can turn off your irrigation system and turn it back on when needed.…

 Photo left: District staffers Bob Brady, senior field technician; Carol Kraft, staff hydrologist; Dave DeWitt, senior geologist/engineer; and Tim Crosby, field technician, check out Peace Sign cave. Photo center: An 87-year-old tour participant talks to Gary Williams, District senior environmental scientist, on the walk to the caves. Photo right: Tim Crosby, field technician, shows tour participants how the District collects water quality samples. This…

Editor’s note: Read in tomorrow’s blog how you can visit Three Sisters Springs for free this weekend. The District recently completed the Three Sisters Springs Bank Stabilization Project in Crystal River, which restored the shoreline and created safer conditions around the spring.  Before the project,…