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Three reappointed members of the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Peace River Basin Board took their oaths of office during the Basin Board’s August meeting.Rufus Lazzell, Paul Samuels and Fred Trippensee were all reappointed by Governor Charlie Crist in June.Lazzell is from Punta Gorda. He is a retired US Army Brigadier General and former mayor of Punta Gorda. His term ends March 1, 2012.Trippensee is from Avon Park. He is the president of…

Governor Charlie Crist recently reappointed several members to one of the seven Basin Boards of the Southwest Florida Water Management District.Alafia River Basin Board:

• Steve Bissonnette of Lakeland was reappointed. He is assistant director of community development for the City of Lakeland. His term began June 23 and ends March 1, 2010.
• Cheryl Johnson of Brandon was reappointed. She is a real estate associate with Tampa Electric Company. Her term began…

Governor Charlie Crist recently reappointed several members to one of the seven Basin Boards of the Southwest Florida Water Management District.Peace River Basin Board:

• Rufus Lazzell of Punta Gorda was reappointed. He is a retired US Army Brigadier General and former mayor of Punta Gorda. His term began June 22 and ends March 1, 2012.
• Fred Trippensee of Avon Park was reappointed. He is the president of Trippensee & Co. Inc. His term began June 22 and…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be conducting “controlled, prescribed burns” during June, July and August on the District’s Chito Branch Reserve and the District’s Lower Hillsborough Flood Detention Area, which includes Flatwoods Park and the Oak Ridge and Washburn Equestrian areas.The Chito Branch Reserve is approximately 10 miles south of Plant City and borders Tampa Bay Water’s C.W. “Bill” Young Regional…

Who:Southwest Florida Water Management District staffWhat: The District is installing a pump and pipes at the Morris Bridge Sink. The pump system will allow the District to test to see if it is feasible to pump water from the sink to augment the Hillsborough River. In addition, the water pumped from the sink will be made available to Tampa Bay Water as a water supply source.When: Friday, April 3, 10 a.m.Where: Morris Bridge Sink, just east of I-75 and the Tampa Bypass…

Due to extremely dry conditions caused by the ongoing three-year drought, the Southwest Florida Water Management District has suspended controlled burns on District lands and is asking outdoor enthusiasts to take extra precautions to prevent wildfires.Dry weather is expected to continue through June. In addition to the lack of rain, several freezes over the past several months have made grasses and other light vegetation extremely dry and volatile, increasing the potential…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District and the Peace River/Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority are working together on a project that will connect Sarasota County’s Carlton Water Treatment Facility to an existing water line to the north.This project is one component of the Regional Integrated Loop, which transmits alternative water supplies such as surface water and brackish ground water across four counties. This pipeline will allow the Authority to…

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 June through September at the following Pasco County properties:

• Cypress Creek Preserve
…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is working with Pinellas County Utilities to promote water conservation by providing toilet rebates of up to $100 for each high-volume toilet replaced with a low-flow model.High-volume toilets can use three gallons or more per flush, while low-flow toilets use up to 1.6 gallons per flush.The program targets residential and commercial customers of Pinellas County Utilities and the cities of Clearwater, Pinellas Park, Safety…

A cooperative project between the Southwest Florida Water Management District and Pinellas County will improve water quality within tidal portions of Walls Springs Park and help restore small wetland areas.Located in western Palm Harbor, the well-known park experiences high use and is named after a small surficial spring in the park that discharges water into a small pond that flows into Boggy Bayou. The spring discharges about 3.5 million gallons of water per day during…

Who:Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Land Resources Department staff and volunteersWhat:The District’s Land Resources Department is coordinating a volunteer work day at the District’s Jack Creek property. Volunteers will help install trail signs and pick up trash.When:Thursday, Feb. 21, 11 a.m.Where:The Jack Creek property is located south of Sebring near Josephine Creek in Highlands County. Volunteers will meet at the property gate at Grand…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board last week issued a new public supply water use permit (WUP) for the Sun ‘n Lake Improvement District.The service area includes approximately 7,150 acres located four miles south of the intersection of State Road 64 and U.S. Highway 27 in Highlands County.The Sun ‘n Lake Improvement District had an existing permit that included public supply and golf course irrigation. Its annual average was 1,006,200 gallons of…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be conducting “controlled, prescribed burns” during the remaining days of August and September for two District sites in Sarasota County the Schewe Ranch property and the Deer Prairie Creek property.Both tracts are located to the north and south of I-75 between mile markers 186 and 190, with U.S. Hwy. 41 as its southern boundary. The properties are also located between the Myakka River and the cities of North…

Anyone interested in conducting a water resource education grant project is invited to apply online for a grant of up to $5,000 through the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Community Education Grant Program.The goal of the program is to motivate adults to get involved in education projects that promote water resources protection. Grants are awarded to projects that provide adults with an opportunity to learn about water-related issues pertaining to conservation…

The Hillsborough River will get a dose of spring cleaning this Sunday, April 22 when Lowry Park Zoo’s Boy Scouts of America Zoo Troop 47 holds its annual cleanup from 8 a.m. until noon. The cleanup will focus on the Lowry Park Boat Ramp area and River Park by the Sulphur Springs water tower.Other volunteer groups, including Cub Scouts and their parents, Orange Grove Middle School volunteers, and teachers from the Lowry Park Zoo’s “Zoo School,” will…

More than 160 people representing local governments, utilities and various industries came together Friday, March 23, at the Hilton Ocala Hotel for the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s first northern Water Conservation Summit.Held in partnership with the Suwannee River and St. Johns River water management districts, the summit served as an exchange of ideas on how local governments and utilities in the District’s northern region can plan for future…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District honored Kristen Russell-Milford, an Inverness Primary School teacher, for her students’ outstanding water resources education project. A total of 27 projects were recognized during the “Partners in Watershed Education Conference” at the Lake Mirror Complex in Lakeland.Through Russell-Milford’s project, “Water is Part of the Solution,” Inverness Primary School students learned about Florida-…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District and the City of Bradenton have increased the budget for a project that will reduce flooding along Wares Creek.The Wares Creek Bridge Replacement project involves replacing four bridges and improving the existing stormwater management systems at three locations. The bridges being replaced are at 9th, 12th, 14th and 17th Avenues West. The stormwater management facilities being improved are at 9th and 20th Avenues West and at…

A project funded by the Southwest Florida Water Management District and the Town of Dundee will bring reclaimed water to approximately 1,821 residential customers and several commercial customers within Dundee.The Dundee Reclaimed Water Use System Project includes the construction of 18,800 linear feet of reclaimed water transmission main line, a high service pump station and two 2.25 million gallon storage tanks.This project will provide approximately 370,000 gallons of…

A cooperatively funded project between the Southwest Florida Water Management District and Sarasota County will develop a computer model to determine how much pollution is entering the countys surface waters.The model will estimate how much pollution will result from proposed land development designs, estimate the effectiveness of projects, and relate pollutant loads to water quality. This model will help the District and the county with efforts to improve the water quality…