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Setting prescribed fires in controlled settings can reduce the risk of wildfires burning out of control. That’s why the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will be conducting prescribed burns January through March on the Lower Hillsborough Wilderness Preserve.The Lower Hillsborough Wilderness Preserve is located south of Cross Creek Boulevard between U.S. Highway 301 and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard near Thonotosassa. Approximately 300 acres will be burned in…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District's Governing Board will hold its monthly meeting Tuesday, Dec. 14, at 9 a.m. at District Headquarters, located at 2379 Broad Street in Brooksville. The meeting is open to the public. Based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding fully vaccinated people, wearing masks and social distancing will be optional at the meeting. To view the Governing Board meeting online, click on…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) has released as much water out of Lake Tarpon as possible, however anticipated storm surge from Hurricane Helene is expected to overtop the structure. The District cannot prevent saltwater from the storm surge from entering the freshwater lake. Additionally, water cannot be released from the lake until the storm surge recedes. Once the water levels from the storm surge fall below the lake level, water discharge…

The sun sparkled on the lakes at Colt Creek State Park as dozens of anglers sank their lines while hundreds of other visitors gathered to celebrate the park’s grand opening. “It really made me feel good when we came in this morning and saw people fishing and enjoying the park,” said Michael Bullock, Florida State Parks Service director. “That’s what state parks are all about.” The 5,118-acre park, located within the District’s Green Swamp Preserve in Polk…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board Tuesday renewed a water use permit (WUP) for the City of Venice.The renewed permit maintains an annual average permitted quantity of 6,864,000 gallons of water per day (gpd).The sole source of water authorized for use by this permit is brackish ground water from the city’s two Intermediate aquifer wellfields.The permit requires the city to carefully manage water levels and water quality at each…

Setting prescribed fires in controlled settings can reduce the risk of wildfires burning out of control. That’s why the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will be conducting prescribed burns October through December on the Prairie Shell Creek Tract in Charlotte County. Prairie Shell Creek is located at 3081 Duncan Road (U.S. Highway 17), Punta Gorda. Approximately 150 acres will be…

Setting prescribed fires in controlled settings can reduce the risk of wildfires burning out of control. That’s why the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will be conducting prescribed burns October through December on the Deep Creek Preserve in DeSoto County. Deep Creek Preserve is located at 10797 Peace River Street in Arcadia, east of State Road 769. Approximately 300 acres will be…

Setting prescribed fires in controlled settings can reduce the risk of wildfires burning out of control. That’s why the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will be conducting prescribed burns October through December at Annutteliga Hammock in Hernando County. Annutteliga Hammock is located east of U.S. Highway 19, north of Centralia Road and south of the county line. Approximately 75 acres will be burned…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District's Governing Board will hold its monthly meeting Tuesday, June 22, at 9 a.m. at District Headquarters, located at 2379 Broad Street in Brooksville. The meeting is open to the public. Based on new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) regarding fully vaccinated people, wearing masks and social distancing will be optional at the meeting. To view the Governing Board meeting online, click on the…

 At the FARMS program presentation are (from left to right) Paul Samuels, Peace River Basin Board member; Mac Carraway, Manasota Basin Board member; Senator Mike Bennett; Representative Nancy Detert; Patsy Symons, Governing Board secretary; Tom Dabney, Governing Board member; Frank Strelec, Manasota Basin Board member; and Ken Harrison, Peace River Basin Board member. Members of the District’s Governing Board and the Manasota and Peace River basin boards…

Left: Competitors in the Nature Coast Envirothon. Right: Pictured from left: Clay Black, senior professional engineer; Robin Coburn, staff engineer; and Michelle Dachsteiner, environmental scientist, were among the District staff that volunteered at this year’s Envirothon. Each year high school students from Citrus, Hernando, Pasco and Sumter counties compete in a battle of the brains. The contest, known as Envirothon, is organized by Canon, with $2,500 in…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is proud to announce the recipients of the 2006 Community Education Grant Program. 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 34 grants Districtwide for a total of $151,278. Of those 34 grants awarded, five were awarded to groups in Pinellas County.The overall goal of the Community Education Grant…

To see how staff are cleaning up District managed properties click here. Feel free to use this video on your website or newscasts. The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) has reopened the majority of District-managed lands throughout its 16-county region. The Districted closed all District-managed lands in September in anticipation of flooding and other…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District's Governing Board will hold its monthly meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 3 p.m. at the Tampa Service Office, located at 7601 U.S. Highway 301 North. A public hearing on the tentative FY2018 budget is scheduled for 5:01 p.m. The final budget hearing will take place on Saturday, Sept. 30 at 9:30 a.m., also at the Tampa Service Office. Both budget meetings were rescheduled due to Hurricane Irma. To view the Governing Board…

Setting prescribed fires in controlled settings can reduce the risk of wildfires burning out of control, as many Floridians witnessed during the state's wildfire emergency in early spring. That's why the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will be conducting prescribed burns November through March 2018 on the Lake Panasoffkee Preserve in Sumter County. Lake Panasoffkee Preserve is located near Interstate 75 and State Road 44. Approximately 500 acres…

Setting prescribed fires in controlled settings can reduce the risk of wildfires burning out of control, as many Floridians witnessed during the state's wildfire emergency in early spring. That's why the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will be conducting prescribed burns November through March 2018 at Weekiwachee Preserve in Pasco County. Weekiwachee Preserve is located north of Hudson, west of U.S. Highway 19 and includes the Aripeka Sandhills (…

At its Aug. 12 meeting, the "Southwest Florida Water Management District's(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us Coastal Rivers Basin Board adopted a fiscal year 2011 (FY2011) millage rate of 0.1885 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year. The "Coastal Rivers Basin Board(Coastal Rivers Basin Board)":/about/basinboards/coastal.php covers portions of Citrus, Hernando and Pasco counties.This millage rate, combined with a…

At its Aug. 12 meeting, the Southwest "Southwest Florida Water Management District's(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us Withlacoochee River Basin Board adopted a fiscal year 2011 (FY2011) millage rate of 0.23 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year. The "Withlacoochee River Basin Board(Withlacoochee River Basin Board)":/about/basinboards/withlacoochee.php area covers portions of Citrus, Hernando, Levy, Marion, Pasco and…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District's Governing Board will hold its monthly meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 3 p.m. at the Tampa Service Office, located at 7601 U.S. Highway 301 North. A public hearing on the tentative FY2018 budget is scheduled for 5:01 p.m. The final budget hearing will take place on Saturday, Sept. 30 at 9:30 a.m., also at the Tampa Service Office. Both budget meetings were rescheduled due to Hurricane Irma. To view the Governing Board…

A change to water management guidelines for the Tsala Apopka chain of lakes means that in excess of 23 million gallons of water per day has been flowing into the Tsala Apopka Lake since Feb. 2. The Floral City, Inverness and Hernando pools are now receiving equal shares of that Withlacoochee River water. The "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":http://watermatters.org changed water control guidelines to try to bring up…