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At its August 27 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board reduced its millage rate to 0.3200 mill for fiscal year 2010 (FY2010), which is .0400 lower than the current fiscal year. The Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board area includes Pinellas County and the southern portion of Pasco County.This lowered millage rate, combined with a reduction in property values as certified by the Pinellas and Pasco county property… Read more

At its August 26 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s newly merged Hillsborough River Basin Board adopted a fiscal year 2010 (FY2010) millage rate of 0.2421 mill. The Hillsborough River Basin Board area covers portions of Hillsborough, Pasco and Polk counties.The Hillsborough River and the Northwest Hillsborough Basin were merged effective Jan. 1, 2009. For FY2009, the Hillsborough River Basin Board adopted a millage rate of 0.2547 mill and the… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District and Sarasota County continue to work diligently to gather input needed to update the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs). The county is also working with staff from the cities of North Port, Venice, Sarasota and the Town of Longboat KeyMost of the current FIRMs are 10 to 30 years old and are outdated because of natural and physical changes caused by land use, development and erosion.… Read more

Southwest Florida Water Management District Executive Director David Moore signed two water shortage emergency orders last week that will allow the City of Tampa to withdraw additional water from Sulphur Springs and Tampa Bay Water (TBW) to withdraw additional water from the Tampa Bypass Canal to help meet the potable water demand of its member governments.Ongoing drought conditions have caused an acute water shortage within the region, so emergency actions are necessary to… Read more

Shephard’s Beach Resort has signed up to become the 400th establishment to participate in the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s award-winning Water Conservation Hotel And Motel Program (Water CHAMP).As a Water CHAMP property, the popular Clearwater Beach resort agrees to participate in the District’s linen and towel reuse program. By implementing the program, the hotel or motel management agrees to launder linens every third day of a guest… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District has extended the water shortage emergency order for the Peace River/Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority to protect the drinking water supply for more than 250,000 residents. The order is now scheduled to expire on June 25, 2008 unless it is rescinded or extended by Districts Governing Board or executive director. The order was slated to expire April 19, 2008.The executive order (… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District has implemented the first project in the Lower Hillsborough River recovery effort.The District began pumping 11 cubic feet per second (cfs) of water, or 7.1 million gallons per day (gpd), from the Tampa Bypass Canal to the Hillsborough River Reservoir on December 31 as part of the Tampa Bypass Canal Diversion Project. In turn, 8.25 cfs, or 5.3 million gallons per day, is being pumped from the reservoir to the base of the dam… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District has extendedthe water shortage emergency order issued Aug. 13 for the Peace River/Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority’s reservoir and two Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) wellfields to help protect the drinking water supply for more than 250,000 residents.An executive order signed Wednesday will allow the Authority to continue to… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District has declared a water shortage emergency for the Peace River/Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority’s reservoir and two Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) wellfields to help protect the drinking water supply for over 250,000 residents.Executive orderSWF 07-045 signed Monday by Richard Owen, deputy executive director of the District’s Division of Resource… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is celebrating the signing of the 300th establishment to participate in the District’s award-winning Water Conservation Hotel And Motel Program (Water C.H.A.M.P.)The Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites on North Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa became the 300th establishment to come on board with Water C.H.A.M.P., the District’s linens and towels reuse program. By implementing the program, the hotel or motel management agrees to… Read more

Governor Charlie Crist recently reappointed several members to five of the eight Basin Boards of the Southwest Florida Water Management District. The governor also appointed a new Basin Board member to the Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board.Manasota Basin Board:Betsy Benac of Sarasota has been reappointed to the Manasota Basin Board. She is a land planner with Wilson Miller, Inc. Her term ends March 1, 2010.Jack Bispham of Sarasota has been reappointed to… Read more

The District is collecting public input on the updated draft of the Regional Water Supply Plan, the tool that points the way to a water supply that can meet the needs of today and tomorrow. The challenge will be meeting growing water supply needs while also protecting the natural resources. The challenge can be met through vigorous planning, regional cooperation among governments and a commitment to conserve water and develop alternative water resources like reclaimed… Read more

District land managers plan to hold a series of hog hunts on District lands throughout the year to help reduce the wild hog population.  Wild hogs, which are not native to Florida, feed on roots, tubors and grubs by rooting with their broad snouts and can leave an area looking like a plowed field. They also prey on native wildlife, compete with native species for food and transmit diseases to other wildlife, livestock and humans. Additionally, hogs may facilitate the… Read more

District land managers plan to hold a series of hog hunts on District lands throughout the year to help reduce the wild hog population. Wild hogs, which are not native to Florida, feed on roots, tubors and grubs by rooting with their broad snouts and can leave an area looking like a plowed field. They also prey on native wildlife, compete with native species for food and transmit diseases to other wildlife, livestock and humans. Additionally, hogs may facilitate the spread… Read more

District land managers plan to hold a series of hog hunts on District lands throughout the year to help reduce the wild hog population.  Wild hogs, which are not native to Florida, feed on roots, tubors and grubs by rooting with their broad snouts and can leave an area looking like a plowed field. They also prey on native wildlife, compete with native species for food and transmit diseases to other wildlife, livestock and humans. Additionally, hogs may facilitate the… Read more

Region at highest alert level and subject to modified Phase IV water restrictionsThe Tampa Bay Water service area remains under the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Modified Phase IV (or Critical) Water Shortage restrictions for potable water use. These are the District’s highest level of water shortage measures.The Tampa Bay Water’s six member governments include Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties as well as the cities of Tampa, New… Read more

Nearly a decade of public workshops, water resource analyses, and policy debates culminated this week in approval of the Southern Water Use Caution Area (SWUCA) Recovery Strategy by the Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board.This is an historic moment for the District, the public and the water resources, said Executive Director David L. Moore. Many years of labor and collaboration by Board members, staff, representatives of all the types of water users… Read more

At its August 16 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Hillsborough River Basin Board adopted a fiscal year 2006 (FY2006) millage rate of 0.285 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year.The budget for FY2006 is $15,875,555, which represents an increase of $4,058,230 over the approved FY2005 budget. The increase in the budget is primarily due to an increase in property values and revenue from the state’s newly created Water Protection and… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board voted today to increase water restrictions throughout the region. The modified Phase III water shortage order affects counties throughout the District’s boundaries: Charlotte, Citrus, DeSoto, Hardee, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lake, Levy, Manatee, Marion, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota and Sumter. The restrictions start June 5.  District hydrologists report a rainfall deficit of 11 inches… Read more

The District recently completed the next phase of the Hunters Cove Restoration Project in Citrus County. Lush mats of eelgrass were transferred to Hunters Cove and placed on the bottom of the cove in sections, similar to planting sod on land. The District had been growing the mats of eelgrass in ponds at the Duke Energy Mariculture Center in Crystal River.  The mats were recently rolled up and transported to the cove, where a dive team carefully placed the… Read more