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The Southwest Florida Water Management District honored four outstanding Pinellas County water resources education projects. A total of 26 projects were recognized Wednesday during the “Partners in Watershed Education Conference” at the Crowne Plaza Tampa East Hotel.

• Kurt Zuelsdorf, Kayak Nature Adventures owner, was recognized for his “Bringing Back the Bay” community education grant project. Through a 2007 Community Education Grant, Kayak…

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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… Read more

Lakeland restaurants can conserve water with the help of two programs offered by the Southwest Florida Water Management District and the City of Lakeland Water Utilities.The District’s Water Program for Restaurant Outreach (Water PRO) and Lakeland’s pre-rinse spray valve replacement program are designed to help restaurants conserve water through training and retrofitting.Water PROWater PRO is a free program that helps restaurants conserve water by educating staff… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) is releasing as much water out of Lake Tarpon as possible, however anticipated storm surge from Hurricane Milton is expected to overtop the structure. Hurricane Milton is also forecasted to bring heavy rainfall to the region, which Hurricane Helene did not. The storm surge combined with the excessive rain could cause catastrophic flooding all around the lake and the outfall canal. Residents who live in and around… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s (District) Governing Board voted to decrease property taxes by adopting a proposed rolled-back millage rate of 0.2043 mill for the fiscal year 2024 budget.The millage rate is 9.6% lower than the current fiscal year adopted millage rate of 0.2260 mill, which will save taxpayers $13.9 million.For the owner of a… Read more

WhoPasco County teachers and students who received Splash! mini-grants; Laura Hill, Pasco County instructional supervisor; and Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) Youth Education staffWhatThe District is holding its annual sharing day for recipients of its Splash! mini-grants in Pasco County. District Youth Education staff and Pasco County’s Instructional Supervisor will visit five sites throughout the day. Each class will showcase their water… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board approved the recommended minimum and guidance levels for select lakes in Highlands, Pasco and Polk counties. The Highlands County lakes include Angelo, Denton, Placid, Tulane and Verona. The Pasco County lakes include King, King-East and Linda. The Polk County lake is Crooked Lake.A minimum flow or level (MFL) is the limit at which further water withdrawals will cause significant harm to the water resources… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) awarded $119,000 in grants to 65 schools within the District as part of the Splash! school grant program. The program provides up to $3,000 per school to enhance student knowledge of freshwater resources in grades K-12. Splash! grants encourage hands-on student learning through STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) activities as well as engagement of the greater school community through awareness… Read more

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 2017. That’s why the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will be conducting prescribed burns October through December at Starkey Wilderness Preserve in Pasco County. Starkey Wilderness Preserve is located east of New Port Richey, west of the Suncoast Parkway, north of State Road 54… Read more

***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… Read more

According to the National Weather Service, parts of the Tampa Bay area are expected to have below freezing temperatures tonight into Friday morning, Feb. 20.This has prompted the "Southwest Florida Water Management District":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/ to advise residents who live near Plant City and Dover who have well pumps without automatic cutoff switches to turn off the pumps tonight.During a freeze or near-freezing temperatures, water is pumped to protect crops and… Read more

According to the National Weather Service, parts of the Tampa Bay area are expected to have near freezing temperatures Saturday morning.This has prompted the "Southwest Florida Water Management District ":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/ to advise residents who live near Plant City and Dover who have well pumps without automatic cutoff switches to turn off the pumps Friday night.During a freeze or near-freezing temperatures, water is pumped to protect crops and fish farms,… Read more

According to the National Weather Service, parts of the Tampa Bay area are expected to have below freezing temperatures Sunday and Monday morning. This has prompted the Southwest Florida Water Management District to advise residents who live near Plant City and Dover and who have well pumps without automatic cutoff switches to turn off the pumps before temperatures dip. During a freeze or near-… Read more

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 2017. That’s why the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will be conducting prescribed burns January through March on the Hálpata Tastanaki Preserve in Marion County. Hálpata Tastanaki Preserve is located 2… Read more

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 2017. That’s why the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will be conducting prescribed burns January through March at Myakka River - Deer Prairie Creek Preserve and Myakka River - Schewe Tract in Sarasota County… Read more

According to the National Weather Service, parts of the Tampa Bay area are expected to see freezing temperatures Tuesday and Wednesday morning.This has prompted the "Southwest Florida Water Management District ":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/ to advise residents who live near Plant City and Dover who have well pumps without automatic cutoff switches to turn off the pumps Monday and Tuesday night.During a freeze or near-freezing temperatures, water is pumped to protect crops… Read more

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 June through September on the Lower Hillsborough Wilderness Preserve and Chito Branch Reserve in Hillsborough County. The Lower Hillsborough Wilderness Preserve is located south of Cross Creek… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District, Polk County Utilities, and the cities of Lakeland, Winter Haven, Haines City, Auburndale and Polk City are offering city water customers a free landscape and irrigation system evaluation.The free Landscape and Irrigation Evaluation program provides evaluations for customers so they can learn how to make their landscaping and irrigation systems more efficient.Water customers who irrigate with reclaimed or drinking water, and… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) awarded $104,941.81 in grants to 48 educators within the District as part of the Splash! school grant program. The program provides up to $3,000 per school to enhance student knowledge of freshwater resources in grades K-12. Splash! grants encourage hands-on student learning through STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) activities as well as engagement of the greater school community through… Read more

At its September 10 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Peace River Basin Board adopted a fiscal year 2005 (FY2005) millage rate of 0.195 mills, which is the same as the current fiscal year.The budget forFY 2005 is $10,194,810, which is a decrease of $5,839,024 from the approvedFY2004 budget. The decrease is due primarily to a reduction in Florida Forever funding for the Lake Hancock Outfall project, which was part of theFY 2004 budget.FY2005… Read more