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The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be conducting “controlled, prescribed burns” during January and February on three District sites in Pasco County. The sites are the Upper Hillsborough property, the Conner Preserve, and the Starkey property.The Upper Hillsborough property is approximately 3 miles east of Zephyrhills. The scheduled, managed burns are a part of routine maintenance of lands managed by the District. Approximately 300 acres of… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District's (District) Governing Board declared April Water Conservation Month at its March meeting. April is historically one of the driest months of the year and typically marks the peak demand season for public water suppliers. With these 10 simple tips, you can lower your monthly water bill and do your part to save hundreds of gallons of water: INDOOR

• Only run your washing machine and…

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**Manatee County students at 11 schools will study the issues surrounding our freshwater resources thanks to "Splash! school grants":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/education/schoolgrants/ from the Southwest Florida Water Management District.The Manatee County awardees are:* Reinhardt Badow, *Bayshore High*, was awarded $1,986. Students will learn about native versus invasive plants as they design, install and maintain native vegetation on the school's campus and wetland area… Read more

Many residents in the District experienced a wetter-than-average 2015 and more could be on the way for 2016. Most counties saw annual rainfall totals above historical averages, although only Pinellas and Hillsborough received above normal amounts. Pinellas, with nearly 60 inches last year, received the most rain among the District’s county averages.  That’s partly because of record rain that occurred from July, 26 2015 to Aug. 7, 2015, which brought historic… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board Tuesday adopted its Fiscal Year 2009 (FY2009) millage rates and a budget that is less than the current fiscal year. FY2009 runs from Oct. 1, 2008, through Sept. 30, 2009.The District’s total FY2009 budget is $376.5 million. That is 4.7 percent lower than the adopted budget for FY2008, which was $395 million. The $18.5 million decrease in the budget is primarily due to the $21.4 million reduction in ad… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Northwest Hillsborough Basin Board Thursday adopted a fiscal year 2009 (FY2009) millage rate of 0.2421 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year. The Northwest Hillsborough Basin Board area includes the northwest portion of Hillsborough County.This millage rate, combined with a reduction in taxable property values as certified by the county property appraiser, will result in an estimated 4.6 percent decrease… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) invites the public to a workshop on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020, at 5 p.m. at Polk’s Nature Discovery Center located at the Circle B Bar Reserve at 4399 Winter Lake Road in Lakeland. The purpose of the workshop is to allow for public comment on the proposed water reservation for Lake Hancock and Lower Saddle Creek. A water reservation defines a quantity of water set aside from the water use permitting process for the… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District has revised the water shortage emergency order for the Peace River Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority to meet the drinking water supply for more than 250,000 residents.This modification allows the Authority to withdraw up to 120 million gallons per day (mgd) from the Peace River for up to 120 days. This increase in the maximum daily intake from 90 to 120 mgd will allow the Authority to take advantage of the high flows… Read more

Southwest Florida Water Management District Executive Director David Moore signed a water shortage emergency order last week allowing Tampa Bay Water to withdraw up to 7.1 million gallons per day (mgd) of water from the Morris Bridge Sink to help meet the potable water demand of its member governments.Tampa Bay Water provides water to Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties, as well as the cities of New Port Richey, St. Petersburg and Tampa.Ongoing drought conditions have… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is working with the City of Winter Haven 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.Residential customers within the Winter Haven service area are eligible to participate in the low-flow toilet rebate program. Single… Read more

Charlotte County Utilities residential customers are now eligible to participate in a toilet rebate program aimed at conserving water.The toilet rebate program, which is a cooperatively funded program by the county and the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Peace River Basin Board, offers rebates to replace high-volume toilets with water efficient low-flow toilets or high-efficiency toilets. Low-flow toilets use 1.6 gallons per flush or less while high-… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board voted Tuesday to combine the Hillsborough River and Northwest Hillsborough Basin Boards.The decision comes after the Senate Committee on Environmental Preservation and Conservation and the state’s Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability both suggested the District consider merging Basin Boards where appropriate.In response to these recommendations, District staff thoroughly… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District honored two Citrus County projects at the “Partners in Watershed Education Conference” at the Crowne Plaza Tampa East Hotel. A total of 26 projects were recognized Wednesday during the event.

• Jennifer Jabo and Marie Bienkowski, Forest Ridge Elementary School teachers, were recognized for their hands-on water conservation education program. This 2007–2008 Splash! mini-grant project helped students…

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Growing public demand in Pasco County has led to a water conservation program that will provide toilet rebates of up to $100 for each high-volume toilet replaced with a low-flow model.The Southwest Florida Water Management District and Pasco County Utilities are working together to provide the toilet rebates.High-volume toilets can use three gallons or more per flush, while low-flow toilets use up to 1.6 gallons per flush.This is the first year of the two-year project. This… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District and Pasco County recently signed an agreement for a project that will expand Pasco County’s reclaimed water system customer base and potentially save nearly 400,000 gallons of potable water per day.This project will connect the Shady Hills wastewater treatment facility to the Pasco County State Road 52 East/West Regional Reclaimed Water Interconnect, which is being designed to transport excess volumes of reclaimed water… Read more

Did you know that an older toilet model can use three gallons or more per flush, while a new low-flow model uses just 1.6 gallons per flush? Or, that an older showerhead can use as much as eight gallons per minute, while a new low-flow model uses just 2.5 gallons per minute?While the Southwest Florida Water Management District advocates water conservation year-round, an extra effort is being made to promote conservation throughout April. Governments and water management… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District, Hernando County and the developers of Hickory Hill signed an agreement to work together to bring reclaimed water to the proposed Hickory Hill community.The project includes the design, permitting and construction of a reclaimed water storage and transmission system, which will involve constructing a one-million-gallon ground storage tank, two pump stations, three lined retention ponds and 31,000 linear feet of reclaimed water… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board approved an agreement Tuesday with the Peace River/Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority (PR/MRWSA) to study the feasibility of three potential alternative water supplies, which include the Dona Bay, Flatford Swamp/Upper Myakka River and Shell Creek systems.The PR/MRWSA serves Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee and Sarasota counties as well as the City of North Port, and is responsible for developing new water supply… Read more

A project funded by the Southwest Florida Water Management District and the City of Palmetto will provide additional storage for reclaimed water, reducing the need for potable water.Excess reclaimed water is currently being discharged into Terra Ceia Bay. The city estimates that by 2010 almost 4,000 new residents will increase the demand for potable water by 2.2 million gallons per day (mgd.)This project includes the design, permitting and construction of an Aquifer Storage… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board today approved a project to reduce groundwater pumping up to 148,000 gallons per day (gpd) at a DeSoto County citrus grove. The Facilitating Agricultural Resource Management Systems (FARMS) program is a cost-share reimbursement program that conserves water and protects water quality. The FARMS project, proposed by Adrian R. Chapman, for 220 acres of the 2,100-acre citrus grove, is located west of Highway 31, on… Read more