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Two equestrian groups and a middle school student are among the volunteers honored Tuesday at the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board meeting in Brooksville.The volunteers, who take part in the District’s Land Resources Volunteer Program, received the President’s Volunteer Service Award, a national honor that recognizes volunteer dedication and signifies that each volunteer has served the community and country with distinction.The… Read more

Conservation Is Always In Season In west-central Florida, water conservation is always in season. That means some conservation measures are in effect year-round, whether it is the rainy season or the dry season. After nearly two years of public input, debate and review, revised year-round water conservation measures went into effect Sept. 15. The District began discussing possible updates to Rule 40D-22 (mandatory year-round conservation measures) in November… Read more

Spending more than two hours on a bus in a traffic jam did not dampen the enthusiasm students had for the task they came to complete. These sixth graders from Learning Gate Community School were at the Schultz Preserve, which is located in southeastern Hillsborough County, to plant 5,000 plugs of marsh grass. The planting was coordinated by the District’s Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) Program and Tampa Bay Watch. Learning Gate Community School… Read more

Janey Baldwin, secretary of the Withlacoochee River Basin Board, left, talks with Jay Yingling, District senior economist, at the Regional Water Supply Plan public workshop for the Northern Planning Region. In an effort to plan for future water supplies and demands in our area, the District is updating the 2006 Regional Water Supply Plan (RWSP). This document was first published in 2001, in accordance with Florida Statute 373.0361, and is… Read more

 Tampa Bypass Canal Structure 160 is one of the 81 water-control structures the District operates in its 16-county area. With the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicting 14 to 23 named storms this hurricane season, the District’s Operations Department is standing by and ready for what could prove to be a very active summer. “All of the District’s 81 structures are inspected regularly to ensure proper functioning,” said David… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District), in partnership with Tampa Bay Water, announces the successful environmental recovery efforts of the Northern Tampa Bay Water Use Caution Area. The success of the Northern Tampa Bay recovery efforts was detailed at the Governing Board’s February meeting. The Board has concurred that a recovery strategy is no longer required for the area because aquifer levels have rebounded and the health of the lakes… Read more

Who: Southwest Florida Water Management District, United States Geological Survey, the American Ground Water Trust and middle and high school teachers from Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Sarasota and Sumter countiesWhat: The goal of this free, two-day workshop for teachers is to increase water awareness among teachers and their students so that they understand the role of science and technology in meeting water supply challenges and are empowered to play… Read more

Who:Southwest Florida Water Management District staff, educators and approximately 500 students from Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco and Pinellas countiesWhat:6th Annual Youth SummitThe summit brings together the youth, educators and community partners who have been involved in Earth Force programs during the past year. It is a day of education and celebration.The students will have the opportunity to share their environmentally oriented… Read more

Improving communication between the District and the more than 190 public supply utilities in the region is the focus of a new utility outreach program that officially kicked off this summer. This outreach program provides tremendous benefit to utilities by offering District tools, programs and resources that can help them meet the District’s regulatory requirements, conserve water and save money. The need for strengthened communication was identified last year… Read more

District Outreach It flew with the troops fighting in Iraq. Now it serves as a big “thank you” to staff at the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Bartow Service Office for their generosity. Staff Sergeant Anthony Pieske presented an American flag to the Bartow employees while on leave from the 332nd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron. Anthony’s wife, Samantha, is a field technician in Bartow. The Bartow Service Office serves residents in Polk, Hardee, and… Read more

Clockwise from top: Water Quality Monitoring Program employees, George DeGroot and David Sua receive their suggestion awards from their managers. This year marks the 10-year anniversary of the District’s Employee Suggestion Program, which began with a goal of awarding employees who save taxpayer dollars and increase efficiency. To date, more than $1.8 million of taxpayer money has been saved by employee suggestions. “This is truly a win-win situation for… Read more

Regions IV and X of the Florida Section of the American Water Works Association (FSAWWA) held their respective drinking water taste-testing competition at the Three Sisters Springs National Wildlife Refuge in Crystal River and at the District’s Sarasota office on Friday April 8.  The winners were the City of Wildwood for the Region IV competition in Crystal River and Charlotte County for the Region X competition held in Sarasota.  The entries are… Read more

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District's Governing Board":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/about/governingboard/ voted to let Modified Phase II water shortage restrictions expire today for Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties due to improvements in the region's water resources.This means those counties will return to the District's "year-round water conservation measures":http://www.watermatters.org/restrictions/ unless a stricter local ordinance applies. The… Read more

Asks the public to help our water resources recoverThe Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board voted unanimously today to extend the current Water Shortage Order, which restricts lawn watering throughout the District to one-day-per-week, through Sept. 30.The Governing Board chose to extend the term of the water shortage order because impacts from the two-year drought continue despite the start of the annual rainy season. In… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District hasdeclared a water shortage emergency and authorized the Englewood Water District to help the Peace River/Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority (Authority) by providing water to Charlotte County Utilities.The Authority requested the emergency authorization, in conjunction with Englewood and Charlotte County, in order to… Read more

Members of the Peace River Basin Board and District staff recently set out on a fact-finding mission to the Orlando Wetlands Park. The group is exploring options on how to improve the water quality leaving Lake Hancock. The Wetlands Park is an example of one option under consideration. Lake Hancock is in the headwaters of the Peace River watershed that extends 120 miles downriver to Charlotte Harbor, an estuary of national significance and a Surface Water Improvement… Read more

While on vacation in Alaska, Dale Thompson took an ATV tour up the side of a mountain. Every other week District employees receive a welcome email — Heading: Deposit Advice; Sender: Dale Thompson. But who is this person? She’s a payroll supervisor who has been with the District for 10 years. She supervises two employees. The Payroll Section’s primary responsibility is to ensure that District employees get paid accurately and on time, a service that employees are sure… Read more

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District's Governing Board":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/about/governingboard/ voted to let Modified Phase III water shortage restrictions expire today for Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Levy, and Sumter counties as well as the City of Dunnellon and The Villages in Marion County due to improvements in the region's water resources.This means those counties will return to the District's "year-round water conservation measures":http://www.… Read more

h2. One-day-per-week watering limit remainsEditor's note: Contact Robyn Felix at Robyn.Felix@WaterMatters.org to receive a color map via email.The Southwest Florida Water Management District's Governing Board voted today to ease water restrictions for Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties. The Board voted to lift the Modified Phase III (or Extreme) restrictions for the Tampa Bay area because Tampa Bay Water has made substantial progress in reducing its groundwater… Read more

Hotels, motels and restaurants in Charlotte County can conserve water with the help of three Southwest Florida Water Management District programs.The District’s Water Conservation Hotel And Motel Program (Water CHAMP), Water Program for Restaurant Outreach (Water PRO), and Charlotte County Toilet Rebate Program are designed to help businesses conserve water through training and retrofitting.Water CHAMPWater CHAMP is the District’s linens and towel reuse program… Read more