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Five Charlotte 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…

Twelve Hernando 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…

April is Water Conservation Month and a great time to improve your home without incurring the high cost of remodeling.Each week the Southwest Florida Water Management District is providing a few simple water conservation tips that the average resident can use. This week the focus is on checking for leaks and retrofitting your fixtures.Leak DetectionA dripping sink faucet can waste up to 30 gallons of water per day and a leaky toilet can waste up to 100 gallons of water per…

The Florida Greenways and Trails Council has agreed to include three Southwest Florida Water Management District properties in the state’s designated system of greenways and trails.The properties include the 18,000-acre Starkey Wilderness Preserve in Pasco County, the 16,000-acre Lower Hillsborough Flood Detention Area in Hillsborough County and the 31-mile segment of the Florida National Scenic Trail that goes through the Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve.The goal of…

Left: Rep. Richard Glorioso, R-Plant City; Robert Brown, Plant City Commissioner; Heidi McCree, Governing Board member; Hugh Gramling, Hillsborough River Basin Board member; Fred Johnson, former Hillsborough River Basin Board member; and Devon Higginbotham, Northwest Hillsborough Basin Board member, visited the McIntosh Park site. The District’s new Governing Board chair knew early in life that his future lay in the citrus industry. Born in Avon Park and…

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/ (District) will hold a public workshop in Sarasota about the draft 2015 Regional Water Supply Plan (RWSP.) The plan presents the projected water demands across the District and all water use sectors for a 20-year planning period as well as identifies water supply sources and potential water supply project options. The workshop will be accessible via interactive webcast accessed remotely via…

May 2025Q: What is a water control structure?A: The primary purpose of the District’s water control structures is to manage the flow of water. Water control structures vary greatly in size and are used for multiple purposes. The District’s water control structures can be classified into three main categories: flood control, salinity barriers, and water conservation structures. These structures allow the District to provide…

 The area is an ideal place where visitors, from school groups to master birders, can visit and explore some of central Florida’s flora and fauna found in a natural state that has had little modification by man. The area contains a variety of different habitat types with a wide diversity of plant life. These types include, but are not limited to, sandhills, flatwoods, oak hammocks, river swamp and cypress ponds. The characteristic cypress ponds that dot the landscape…

Sixty-nine Hillsborough 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’…

A national program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) calls the District’s Water Conservation Hotel and Motel Program (Water C.H.A.M.P.) a “Gulf Guardian.” The District’s water conservation program took second place among government programs at the Gulf Guardian Awards in Corpus Christi, Texas. Water C.H.A.M.P. began in September 2002 as a two-year pilot program in the Pinellas-Anclote River Basin of the Southwest Florida Water Management…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District's (District) Governing Board recognized Lace Blue-McLean as this year’s springs community partner, while declaring April Springs Protection Awareness Month. Blue-McLean is the chair of the Save Our Waters Week Committee, which was formed more than 20 years ago to bring awareness to water issues in Citrus County. Each year, she dedicates countless hours to organizing the weeklong event. Through free tours, cleanups and other…

April… a month known for April Fool’s Day, tax day, Earth Day and, in Florida, water conservation. The state Legislature designated April as water conservation month. This year the District will celebrate water conservation month by participating in a variety of festivals and educational events. District staff will speak at two series of educational workshops aimed at helping elected community, county and municipal officials and decision-makers learn more about the…

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District":http://www.watermatters.org is encouraging teachers and students to celebrate Water Conservation Month in April by taking the Water Conservation Classroom Challenge.While the District advocates "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 declared April…

Susan Douglas, Florida Water StarSM program coordinator, presents employee Fred Hartless with his Florida Water StarSM certificate. Hartless is the first District employee to earn the certification. For every drop of water conserved, Fred Hartless knows more money will stay in his wallet. That’s why Hartless made sure his new Wesley Chapel home was water efficient. He recently made it official by becoming the first District employee to get his home…

Who:Southwest Florida Water Management District staff, Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association (FRLA) members, Florida Department of Environmental Protection staff, Progress Energy representatives, City of St. Petersburg representativesWhat:“Go Green See Green” workshop. These organizations have come together for the first time to educate members of the hotel/motel and restaurant industries on free programs they can take advantage of to…

Five Polk County projects that are expected to reach approximately 27,100 residents were awarded Community Education Grants from the Southwest Florida Water Management District. These grants offer up to $5,000 to help fund projects that provide communities an opportunity to learn about water resources.This year the District awarded 32 grants Districtwide. This is the 12th year Community Education Grants have been available.The overall goal of the Community Education Grant…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will hold a virtual public meeting at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 20, to review and solicit public feedback on the 2023 Tampa Bay Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) plan. The SWIM Program evaluates priority water bodies, identifies potential problems and implements projects to improve their water quality or habitat. The draft Tampa Bay SWIM Plan is available for review at …

***The District’s Surplus Lands Committee has been canceled. The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board will hold its monthly meeting Tuesday, March 26 at 9 a.m. at the Tampa Service Office, located at 7601 U.S. Highway 301 North. At 10:30 a.m. or immediately following the Governing Board meeting, the District’s Surplus Lands Committee will meet. The Committee will hold a series of meetings to evaluate 44,672 acres of…

The Tampa Service Office held a recycled art contest to raise money to buy a modified bicycle for a disabled person. District employees made a mark on the community during 2010, helping churches give away food and clothing, giving elementary students jackets and gifts, helping the disabled achieve mobility and sponsoring foster children. Staff members reached out to the community through Districtwide benevolent events, service office auctions and personal…

Your Questions AnsweredAugust 2020Many residents have questions about the process of constructing wells on their property. Southwest Florida Water Management District Well Construction manager David Arnold has the answers to some frequently asked questions.Q: Why do I need a permit to construct a water well?A: A well construction permit is required before installation of a water well within the Southwest Florida Water Management…