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In April, the Southwest Florida Water Management District will celebrate the Peace River and the Peace River watershed with a series of events along the river.The District’s Peace River Basin Board has declared the week of April 14 through April 21 as “Peace River Watershed Awareness Week.” Participating county governments also plan to recognize this first-of-a-kind event.In conjunction with the awareness week, four events are planned within the Peace…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District honored two outstanding Sumter County projects that focused on water resources education. A total of 27 projects were recognized during the “Partners in Watershed Education Conference” at the Lake Mirror Complex in Lakeland.The Sumter County recipients are listed below. Part of Sumter County is within the District’s Withlacoochee River Basin, which also includes portions of Citrus Hernando, Marion, Pasco and Levy counties.…

To provide flood protection to lakefront properties, the Southwest Florida Water Management District Tuesday will begin releasing water through flood control structure S-353 on the Hernando Pool of the Tsala Apopka Chain of Lakes.S-353 releases water into an outfall canal that discharges into the Withlacoochee River near Holder. The operation of the structure is guided by a legal agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that requires water to be released when levels…

To provide flood protection to lakefront properties, the Southwest Florida Water Management District Tuesday will begin releasing water through flood control structure S-353 on the Hernando Pool of the Tsala Apopka Chain of Lakes.S-353 releases water into an outfall canal that discharges into the Withlacoochee River near Holder. The operation of the structure is guided by a legal agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that requires water to be released when levels…

The District’s Water Conservation Hotel and Motel Program (Water C.H.A.M.P.) is being noticed throughout the southeast for its success. Governing Board member Watson Haynes II and Melissa Roe, a District senior communications coordinator, will represent the District when they accept a Gulf Guardian Award in Corpus Christi, Texas. Water C.H.A.M.P. received second place among government programs that help protect the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf Guardian Awards are…

*_Phase III Could Be Declared for Tampa Bay Area if Conditions Worsen_*The "Southwest Florida Water Management District's Governing Board":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/about/governingboard/ voted today to give the District's executive director the authority to issue an emergency order to increase water restrictions in the Tampa Bay area if conditions continue to worsen.Executive Director Blake Guillory is expected to declare a "Modified Phase III":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl…

*Editor's note: See included map of county and watersheds* The Southwest Florida Water Management District is gathering input needed to improve identification of flooding risks in the county. The District is serving as a cooperating technical partner for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on their national effort to update and modernize the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs). Most of the current FIRMs are 10 to 30 years old and are outdated because of…

Who: Representatives from the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing and Basin Boards, Pasco County elected officials, Bay City Flyers and Pasco County elementary school studentsWhat: The District is celebrating the grand opening of the Conner Preserve. The event includes a ceremony, guided hikes, model airplane demonstrations, children’s activities, water quality monitoring demonstrations and more. The District…

At its June 11 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Withlacoochee River Basin Board adopted a proposed fiscal year 2010 (FY2010) millage rate of 0.2308 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year. The Withlacoochee River Basin Board area covers portions of Citrus, Hernando, Levy, Marion, Pasco and Sumter counties.This millage rate, combined with a reduction in taxable property values as estimated by the county property appraisers, will…

At its June 3 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board adopted a proposed fiscal year 2010 (FY2010) millage rate of 0.3600 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year.This millage rate, combined with a reduction in property values as estimated by the Pinellas and Pasco county property appraisers, will result in an estimated 11.5 percent decrease in ad valorem property tax revenue from FY2009. These estimates…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is building upon the success of its award-winning Water Conservation Hotel And Motel Program (Water CHAMP) by launching a new companion program for restaurants.The program, known as the Water Program for Restaurant Outreach (Water PRO), is being launched to coincide with National Tourism Week, May 10-18.A restaurant uses an average of 5,800 gallons of water per day, which equals more than two million gallons of water per year.…

Sixteen Manatee County teachers are among the record number of educators who applied for and received Splash! mini-grants through the Southwest Florida Water Management District.This year the District awarded Splash! mini-grants to 209 educators totaling more than $413,000. That’s 72 more grant recipients than last year.Mary Margaret Hull, lead communications coordinator, attributes the increase in awardees to an increase in promotion among the District’s school…

At its June 12 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Withlacoochee River Basin Board adopted a proposed fiscal year 2009 (FY2009) millage rate of 0.2308 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year. The Withlacoochee River Basin Board area covers portions of Pasco, Hernando, Citrus, Sumter, Marion, and Levy counties.This millage rate, combined with a reduction in taxable property values as estimated by the county property appraisers, will…

At its June 9 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Hillsborough River Basin Board adopted a proposed fiscal year 2009 (FY2009) millage rate of 0.2547 mill, which is the same rate as the current fiscal year. The Hillsborough River Basin Board area covers portions of Hillsborough, Pasco and Polk counties.The proposed budget for FY2009 is $20,020,887 which is an increase of $1,971,863 from the approved FY2008 budget. The increase is primarily due…

At its June 7 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Alafia River Basin Board adopted a proposed fiscal year 2008 (FY2008) millage rate of 0.240 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year.Further, in the event that a tax reduction is mandated by the Legislature during its special session later this month, the Basin Board has authorized the Executive Director to recalculate its millage rate to reflect the change in revenue prescribed by the…

At today’s meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Manasota Basin Board adopted a fiscal year 2007 (FY2007) millage rate of 0.160 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year.The budget for FY2007 is $24,977,189, which is an increase of $4,741,656 from the approved FY2006 budget. The increase is attributed to increased property values and additional revenue from the State Water Protection and Sustainability Program for alternative water supply…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Water Program for Restaurant Outreach (Water PRO) is off to a great start thanks to support from dozens of area Beef O’ Brady’s restaurants.Water PRO is a free program that helps restaurants conserve water by educating staff and customers. By implementing Water PRO, the restaurant management agrees to only serve water upon request, display water conservation materials on tables, conduct self-audits and…

Don Kubiak, director of the botanical gardens, and Dick Keller, co-director, share a laugh with Fox 13’s Bill Murphy during the taping of a One Tank Trips segment featuring the Nature Coast Botanical Gardens. The District is celebrating an educational milestone with the 10th anniversary of the Community Education Grant Program, a program that motivates adults to get involved in projects that promote water resources protection. The grants are used for…

Southwest Florida Water Management District Executive Director David L. Moore this month declared a modified Phase II Severe Water Shortage that restricts lawn watering to one day per week throughout the 16-county District. The restrictions apply to the use of water from public and private water utilities, as well as the use of all wells and surface water sources (ponds, rivers, etc.). The order went into effect January 16 and will remain in place until July 31 unless…

Eugene Schiller, the District’s deputy executive director of the Division of Management Services, has been selected to serve a two-year term on the Department of the Interior’s National Geospatial Advisory Committee. Schiller was appointed by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne to represent regional government. “I am honored to be selected to serve on this committee,” said Schiller. “The District has been recognized nationally for its…