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To help lower lake levels and prevent flooding, the District recently partnered with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the University of Florida Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants and the Panavista Fish Camp to treat and remove hydrilla from the Lake Panasoffkee Outlet River in Sumter County. Water naturally flows out of Lake Panasoffkee to the Withlacoochee River through the Outlet River. Hydrilla, an invasive species, recently grew so dense…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will close all District-managed campgrounds and properties to include trails and day use areas throughout its 16-county region at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11, in anticipation of impacts from Hurricane Eta. The District will plan to reopen the campgrounds at 8 a.m. Friday, Nov. 13, unless otherwise indicated. For the most updated information, please visit the District’s website at…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board will hold its monthly meeting Tuesday, April 22 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…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) has reopened the Hillsborough River to boat traffic, east of the I-75 overpass. The river was closed on Monday, due to rising waters associated with Hurricane Hermine. The District anticipated activating the Tampa Bypass Canal system Monday night in response to heavy rains in the Tampa Bay area from Hurricane Hermine, however, the Hillsborough River has not reached an elevation of 25 feet above sea level, which…

Scientists with the Southwest Florida Water Management District's (District) Surface Water Improvement and Management, or SWIM program, released the results of the 2016 seagrass mapping study showing Sarasota Bay now supports 13,469 acres of seagrass beds; an increase of 180 acres in seagrass coverage. Sarasota Bay waters includes five bay segments made up of Manatee and Sarasota County waters. Three of the five bay segments gained seagrass from 2014 to 2016 with an overall…

Scientists with the Southwest Florida Water Management District's (District) Surface Water Improvement and Management, or SWIM program, released the results of the 2014 seagrass mapping study showing Sarasota Bay now supports 13,288 acres of seagrass beds; an increase of 701 acres in seagrass coverage. Sarasota Bay waters include five bay segments made up of Manatee and Sarasota County waters. All bay segments gained seagrass from 2012 to 2014 with an overall 5.6% increase…

Two Polk County projects, cooperatively funded by the Southwest Florida Water Management District, to improve water quality by treating stormwater runoff within the Ridge Lakes watershed will be complete in July.The first project consists of a stormwater treatment system for Lake Menzie. The project includes retrofitting two stormwater pipes that directly discharge into Lake Menzie. These retrofits include two swales, a retention basin, and a long infiltration basin. These…

State Sen. J.D. Alexander presented the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board with a ceremonial check for $15 million for the District’s West-Central Florida Water Restoration Action Plan (WRAP.)Gov. Charlie Crist included WRAP in his budget request to the Legislature and Sen. Alexander and Rep. Bill Galvano carried the budget request successfully through the legislative process.“Without the support of the Governor, Senator Alexander…

The first phase of one of the largest ecosystem restoration projects to benefit Charlotte Harbor is complete. District staff and other community leaders recently celebrated the dedication of the first phase. The Coral Creek Ecosystem Restoration Project is a multi-phased initiative involving 2,600 acres within the Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park. It was spearheaded by the District, in collaboration with Charlotte County and the Florida Department of Environmental…

Three DeSoto 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 ":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/ (District) is gathering information to improve identification of flood prone areas in Pasco County's New River/Upper Hillsborough River watersheds. Residents living in the New River/Upper Hillsborough River watersheds are invited to attend an open house on Thursday, May 22, 2014, beginning at 4:00 p.m. The meeting will take place at Wesley Chapel High School, located at 30651 Wells Road, Wesley…

The Southwest Florida Water Management’s Peace River Basin Board honored students and teachers from Lakeland Christian School and Barbara Carlton for their commitment to water resources.The board presented the students and teachers from Lakeland Christian School with a Water Stewardship Award and Carlton with a special recognition award.The board chose the Lakeland Christian School’s “Water Wiseguys” project to receive the Water Stewardship Award…

The Southwest Florida Water Management’s Peace River Basin Board honored students and teachers from Lakeland Christian School and Barbara Carlton for their commitment to water resources.The board presented the students and teachers from Lakeland Christian School with a Water Stewardship Award and Carlton with a special recognition award.The board chose the Lakeland Christian School’s “Water Wiseguys” project to receive the Water Stewardship Award…

The Southwest Florida Water Management’s Peace River Basin Board honored Students and teachers from Lakeland Christian School and Barbara Carlton for their commitment to water resources.The board presented the students and teachers from Lakeland Christian School with a Water Stewardship Award and Carlton with a special recognition award.The board chose the Lakeland Christian School’s “Water Wiseguys” project to receive the Water Stewardship Award…

Peace River Elementary students in Charlotte County will study how rain barrels save water thanks to a "Splash! school grant":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/education/schoolgrants/ from the Southwest Florida Water Management District.The goal of the Splash! school grant program is to provide teachers with funding to enhance student knowledge of topics that meet the District's core mission and teach students about their local watersheds, water conservation, quality and supply…

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ is gathering input needed to improve identification of flooding risks in the Gamble Creek watershed.The District is serving as a cooperating technical partner for the "Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)(Federal Emergency Management Agency)":http://www.fema.gov on its national effort to "update and modernize the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs)(Federal Flood Map…

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ is offering six easy ways to prepare for your holiday meals and parties without running up your water bill."It is especially important to conserve water during the holidays, as they fall within our traditional dry season," said Robyn Felix, the District's media relations manager. "We can all make a difference by incorporating a few simple tips into our routines."During the…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board will hold its monthly meeting on Thursday, Oct. 29 at the Charlotte Harbor Event & Conference Center, 75 Taylor Street in Punta Gorda.The meeting, which begins at 1:00 p.m., will follow a joint workshop between the Governing Board and the Peace River Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority. The workshop, which is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m., will be held at the same location.The Governing Board…

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District's(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ "Governing Board(Governing Board)":/about/governingboard Tuesday renewed and modified a water use permit for the City of Bushnell.The modified permit increases the permitted quantities for the city. The previous annual average permitted quantity was 550,000 gallons of water per day. The new permitted quantity is 1.37 million gallons per day.The increased quantities are based on…

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ is kicking off a water conservation campaign called "Every Drop Counts!(/Every Drop Counts!)":/EveryDropCounts on USF's Tampa campus. District officials estimate that the average person in this region uses 111 gallons of water per day. The program offers ideas for college students to reduce their use in every day activities. The District says they are not asking people to go…