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The Southwest Florida Water Management District recently held its annual Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. This event allows the children of District parents to understand the importance of the work being done at the District. The day is focused on providing an interactive experience for the nearly 80 children to maximize the learning experiences. Activities included demonstrations through the chemistry laboratory, equipment and operations as well as hands-on… Read more

Project will help meet minimum flows in the Upper Peace RiverThe Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board Tuesday authorized the implementation of the Lake Hancock Lake Level Modification Project.The project will raise the lake’s water level by raising the control elevation of the existing outflow structure to store additional water that later can be released into the Upper Peace River during dry periods. The project is a critical component of the… Read more

Public participation will be provided through online viewing or conference call options The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board will hold its monthly meeting Tuesday, April 28, at 10 a.m. remotely. Following the Governor’s directions to reduce public gatherings and practice social distancing… Read more

 A stormwater treatment pond and diversion structure built adjacent to Lake Mariana will help improve water quality in the Polk County lake. The water quality at Lake Mariana and the Winter Haven Chain of Lakes will begin to improve, thanks to a stormwater improvement project cooperatively funded by the District and Polk County. Lake Mariana is a 500-acre lake located within the headwaters of the Winter Haven Chain of Lakes, which is a District Surface… Read more

Eugene Schiller has been in public service for 30 years. This September during its annual conference in San Antonio, Texas, the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) honored Eugene Schiller for 30 years of local government service “for significant contributions and achievements in the advancement of local government administration.” Schiller, who has served as the District’s deputy executive director of the Division of Management Services… Read more

More than 700 of the best and brightest minds in water reuse met in Tampa this September to take part in the 22nd Annual WateReuse Symposium, which focused on water reuse and desalination. This is the first time the WateReuse Association has held its annual event in the Tampa Bay area. The association is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to advance the beneficial and efficient use of water resources through education, sound science and technology using… Read more

Southwest Florida Water Management District Executive Director David Moore "declared an emergency":/download/view/site_file_sets/21/2010-004.pdf !/img/pdf.gif! today to assist the remaining eastern Hillsborough County residents who are still without water and do not qualify for mitigation by a permit holder.The District Governing Board authorized the transfer of $250,000 in public funds at its monthly meeting yesterday in the event that an emergency were to be declared by… Read more

Left: Ruffin Gray, City of Lakeland environmental specialist; Nesya Bliss, youth outreach specialist; and Virginia Sternberger, senior communications coordinator, served as actors in one of the water conservation public service announcements. Right: Antwan Key, City of Lakeland communication specialist, served as the lighting and camera operator for the water conservation public service announcements. Public service announcements (PSAs) promoting two Southwest… Read more

With the holiday season upon us, the Southwest Florida Water Management District is asking residents to make water conservation a new tradition.“This holiday season it is especially important to conserve water because the District is still experiencing impacts from two years of drought and we are now in the dry season,” said Robyn Felix, the District’s media relations manager. “We can all make a difference by incorporating a few simple tips into our… Read more

Two water management districts are teaming up to offer a variety of interactive games and exercises at the 5th Annual Marion County Springs Festival.Because Marion County is within the Southwest Florida Water Management District and the St Johns Water Management District, staff members from both districts are working together to teach kids about our water resources. Some of the hands-on activities include “In the Bubble,” “Make it Sink,” and “… Read more

An equestrian volunteer group and two off-road bike volunteers who work with the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Land Resources Volunteer Program will receive the national President’s Call to Service Award for contributing more than 4,000 hours of service.The President’s Call to Service Award is presented through the “Take Pride in Florida/Take Pride in America” program. This award is the highest honor given through the program.… Read more

Top: The finished baffle boxes at Lake Eva. Above: The Lake Menzie outfall before and after the restoration project. Stormwater runoff from urban areas flowing into Lake Eva in Haines City and Lake Menzie in Dundee is 60 to 80 percent less polluted thanks to projects cooperatively funded by the District. The two Polk County lakes were suffering from polluted runoff that flowed unchecked from urban areas. Since the local governments didn’t have the resources to… Read more

Former Governing Board Member Bill Wilcox, left, and current Chair Ron Oakley visit Telegraph Swamp. District staff and Governing Board Chair Ron Oakley recently visited Babcock Ranch Preserve in Charlotte and Lee counties to look at how the preserve’s staff balanced land preservation and management issues with public access needs. The 73,000-acre preserve was purchased by the state of Florida and Lee County in 2006 to protect water resources, natural… Read more

Due to lingering drought effects and water resources not recovering as quickly as other areas, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board voted today to maintain once-per-week lawn watering and other restrictions in the District’s northern region, which includes Citrus, Hernando, Levy and portions of Lake, Marion and Sumter counties. This order in Marion County would be limited to the city of Dunnellon and the area encompassed by The Villages because… Read more

A multimillion-dollar cooperative project among three government entities is cleaning up a watershed that eventually empties into Tampa Bay. The creation of McIntosh Park began when Hillsborough County purchased the 400-acre plot through its Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program (ELAPP) for Plant City. The land is adjacent to the downstream segment of the Eastside Canal, which was built in the late 1930s to drain the 6,000-acre Eastside Canal… Read more

District scientists continue to see increases in seagrass in Tampa Bay, which is an indicator of water quality. Scientists with the District’s Surface Water Improvement and Management, or SWIM program, released the results of its 2016 seagrass mapping study showing Tampa Bay now supports 41,655 acres of seagrass beds. This increase continues the success of the previous mapping efforts reported in 2015, supporting the largest amount of seagrass measured since the 1950s… Read more

Several staff members in the Public Affairs Bureau (PAB) are using the leadership skills they’ve built at the District to now direct public relations professionals across the state.  Three PAB employees have recently been elected to lead public relations organizations. Terri Behling, External Affairs manager, has been serving as the state President of the Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA) since August. Tara Poulton, Government Affairs Program manager, is… Read more

While the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) encourages water conservation year-round, there is extra emphasis each April for Water Conservation Month. April is historically one of the driest months of the year and typically marks the peak demand season for public water suppliers. While we shelter at home to stay safe, here are 10 simple tips to lower your monthly water bill and do your part to save hundreds of gallons of water: INDOOR… Read more

Dozens of state and community leaders joined the District last week in kicking off the Rock Ponds Ecosystem Restoration Project. The project, located just north of the Manatee County line in Ruskin, will feature more than 1,000 acres of restored  uplands and wetlands when completed in about two years. Executive Director Robert Beltran acknowledged the project was possible thanks to community partners like Hillsborough County.  “Over the years,… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will hold a Preliminary Evaluation CommitteeMeeting on Tuesday, December 19, at 12:00 p.m. (local time) to evaluate responses to RFP 24-4534Physical Risk Assessment. The committee members will discuss their review of the responses and mayselect a firm to award, select firms to be shortlisted for further evaluation, or reject all responses.