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The Southwest Florida Water Management District and Pasco County are working together to gather input needed to improve identification of flooding risks in the county.The information will be used to update area floodplain information and develop preliminary Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs). Most of the current FIRMs are 10 to 30 years old and are outdated because of natural and physical changes caused by land use, development and…

Did you know that a dripping faucet can waste up to 30 gallons of water per day and a leaky toilet can waste up to 100 gallons of water per day?Governments and water management districts throughout the state have declared April Water Conservation Month. While the Southwest Florida Water Management District staff advocates water conservation year-round, an extra effort is being made to promote conservation throughout April because it is typically marks the start of the peak…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board has concurred with the Water Shortage Order, which restricts lawn watering throughout the District to one-day-per-week, at Tuesday’s meeting.The water shortage order was declared earlier this month by the District’s Executive Director David L. Moore following a lengthy presentation by staff outlining the depressed hydrologic conditions. The order went into effect Jan. 16 and includes restrictions that apply to…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board Tuesday approved a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Polk County for the Lake Hancock Lake Level Modification Project. Polk County is scheduled to consider the MOA on Aug. 9.The MOA outlines what each party is responsible for and addresses the county’s North Central landfill. The county’s North Central landfill is located near the Lake Hancock Project. It was originally permitted in 1974…

More water will be available to fill up Tampa Bay Water’s C.W. “Bill” Young Reservoir as a result of two executive orders,Order No. SWF 07-042 andOrder No. SWF 07-043, signed today by David L. Moore, executive director of the Southwest Florida Water Management District.The orders allow wholesale water…

Water Management on the Move A cooperative project between Pinellas County and the District has restored the natural flow of water between two back bays at Fort DeSoto Park near the mouth of Tampa Bay. Restoring the circulation will help improve water quality and habitats in the estuary. When the park was being developed during the late 1950s and early 1960s, a dredge-and-fill project connected a series of small mangrove islands from the mainland to a barrier…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is currently developing new minimum flow standards for the Upper Peace River. Minimum flows are intended to prevent significant harm to the water resources or ecology of an area that may be caused by water withdrawals. The draft minimum flows report for the Upper Peace River,…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is currently developing new minimum flow standards for the Upper Peace River. Minimum flows are intended to prevent significant harm to the water resources or ecology of an area that may be caused by water withdrawals. The draft minimum flows repor…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is currently developing new minimum flow standards for the Upper Peace River. Minimum flows are intended to prevent significant harm to the water resources or ecology of an area that may be caused by water withdrawals. The draft minimum flows report for the Upper Peace River,…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is currently developing new minimum flow standards for the Upper Peace River. Minimum flows are intended to prevent significant harm to the water resources or ecology of an area that may be caused by water withdrawals. The draft minimum flows report for the Upper Peace River,…

This summer the District’s Land Resources Department assembled a group of people, all with a personal or professional interest in the availability of District lands for public use, to hear their input on how the District can maintain the balance between preservation and public access. The District’s Land Resources Department is tasked with balancing public access, recreation and other land uses with the management of more than 343,000 acres of District-owned land. The…

District Lands Offer New Features New trail maps and other information have been added to the kiosks on District properties to enrich the experience for guests. The new trail maps were created for 16 of the District’s most popular properties using detailed information including global positioning coordinates. The maps are part of an ongoing effort to update information at District properties. In recent years, land use specialists marked District trails using an…

The District’s Governing Board recently approved the first parcel of land for surplus and the assessment process received glowing reviews. Board members approved the surplus of a 6-acre portion of the Frog Creek tract in Manatee County. Staff determined the northwest corner of the tract has no significant conservation value. The District will retain the remaining portion of the 127 acres located near Interstate 275 and US 41. The property includes several areas…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board voted today to modify its existing Phase I water shortage, expanding it to cover the District’s entire 16-county area beginning May 8.  Under Phase I, water utilities and their local governments are expected to review and revise water restriction enforcement procedures, begin monthly enforcement reporting and…

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ is gathering input needed to improve identification of flooding risks in Citrus County's *Center Ridge watershed*.The District is serving as a cooperating technical partner for the "Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)(Federal Emergency Management Agency)":http://www.fema.gov on its national effort to "update and modernize the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs)(Federal…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) invites the public to a virtual workshop Wednesday, Nov. 3, at 5:30 p.m. The purpose of the virtual workshop is to allow for public comment on recommended minimum flows for Lower Shell Creek in Charlotte County. Members of the public may join the meeting via Microsoft Teams through this link https://bit.ly/3arKI1S. The Google Chrome browser is…

It started with a single blade of eelgrass, actually thousands of them.  District springs experts are hoping those blades of grass will thrive and grow into dense vegetation that will improve water quality and sustain beneficial fish and wildlife habitats in Kings Bay. The pilot project is part of the District’s Hunters Cove Restoration Project. The first phase of the project is to grow a special type of eelgrass in mats made of coconut coir material. This…

Following Hurricane Milton, the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) has deactivated the Tampa Bypass Canal System and the Hillsborough Flood Detention Area (HFDA), as water levels in the Hillsborough River have returned to normal. This marks a positive step as the region recovers from the heavy rainfall caused by the storm. To assist with flood control during the storm, the District activated the Tampa Bypass Canal System on October 8 to protect…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is currently developing new minimum flow standards for the Upper Peace River. Minimum flows are intended to prevent significant harm to the water resources or ecology of an area that may be caused by water withdrawals. The draft minimum flows report for the Upper Peace River, along with the…

Relief is on the way for the lower Hillsborough River thanks to a series of actions taken by the Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board Tuesday.The Board approved new minimum flows for the lower portion of the river, a Recovery Strategy to restore flows to the river, and a funding agreement with Tampa on a series of minimum flow-related projects.Aminimum flow or level (MFL) is the limit at which further water withdrawals will cause…