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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…

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…

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…

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-…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District recently signed an agreement with Pinellas County for a project to improve water quality and restore habitat in Sutherland Bayou.Pop Stansell Park is a 4.5-acre park that sits on Sutherland Bayou. Approximately 57,000 people visit the park each year, which is also used for marine access to St Joseph Sound and the Gulf of Mexico. Years of unrestricted public access as a launching point for boating, canoeing, kayaking and…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District and the City of Tampa are offering residents a financial incentive to save water by replacing high-volume toilets with low-flow models.The District and the City of Tampa have co-funded this project, known as the Toilet Rebate Program, since 1994. This year the program will provide approximately 2,200 toilet rebates. Approximately 28,000 toilets have been replaced with low flow models since the program began.The project goals…

A cooperatively funded project among the Southwest Florida Water Management District, Polk County and the City of Frostproof will reduce flooding in the Lake Clinch area by improving flow between Lake Clinch and Reedy Lake.Lake Clinch is part of a chain of lakes in Polk County. Water flows from Crooked Lake into Lake Clinch and then into Reedy Lake. However, the conveyance system between these lakes has been altered many times over the years, significantly reducing the…

A multi-year aerial mapping project funded by the Southwest Florida Management District and Sumter County will help predict flooding and water quality problems by updating the county’s topographical maps.During the first phase of the project, the entire county will be flown over with light detection and ranging laser-based technology (LiDAR) to collect topographic information, which will be used to create detailed elevation maps that show the area’s physical…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is partnering with the City of Tampa again in 2005 to offer residents a financial incentive to save water by replacing high-volume toilets with low-flow models.The Tampa Plumbing Retrofit and Education Project is a cooperatively funded effort between the City of Tampa and the District’s Northwest Hillsborough Basin Board. The District and the City of Tampa have co-funded this project, known as the Toilet Rebate Program,…

Southwest Florida Water Management District Executive Director David L. Moore Wednesday issued emergency orders for Punta Gorda and North Port related to Hurricane Charley impacts.The emergency order for Punta Gorda allows the city’s water utility system to use as much water as is necessary to maintain system pressure and complete the required line flushing, chlorine residuals testing, and bacteriological sampling in order to open the water service distribution system…