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Summer rains not enough for water resources to fully recoverThe Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board voted today to extend the current Water Shortage Order, which restricts lawn watering throughout the District to one-day-per-week, through Feb. 27, 2009.The Governing Board chose to extend the term of the water shortage order because the region is still impacted by the two-year drought and portions of the District did not receive enough rain…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District extended an emergency authorization allowing the Peace River/Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority (Authority) to utilize its existing Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) wellfields for the temporary production of ground water to meet regional demand.The emergency order, which was slated to expire July 1, has been extended to Aug. 1, 2008. It must also be temporarily suspended any time the Authority is able to meet demand…

At its August 4 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Peace River Basin Board adopted a fiscal year 2007 (FY2007) millage rate of 0.195 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year.The budget for FY2007 is $15,976,982, which is an increase of $2,655,463 from the approved FY2006 budget. The increase is primarily due to an increase in property values. FY2007 will run from Oct. 1, 2006, through Sept. 30, 2007.The Peace River Basin Board area…

Restrictions eased for Manatee, Sarasota, DeSoto and Charlotte countiesEditor'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 Manatee, Sarasota, DeSoto and Charlotte counties. The Board voted to lift the Phase III restrictions for the Southern counties in the District due to improvements in public water supply storage as a…

Gov. Jeb Bush recently reappointed several members to five of the eight Basin Boards of the Southwest Florida Water Management District. The governor also appointed several new Basin Board members.Alafia River Basin Board:James D. Selvey of Brandon was reappointed to the Alafia River Basin Board. He is a real estate broker and the owner of Exit Realty Consultants. Selvey joined the Board March 1, 2002. This term began June 1, 2005 and ends March 1, 2008.Jean C. Tort of…

Top: Silage cutters harvest native grass seeds from the Green Swamp to be used at the Conner Preserve. Bottom: Portions of the Green Swamp and Conner Preserve are both located in Pasco County and have similar soil content. Hunters at the District’s Green Swamp property may have been surprised to see farm equipment rolling through the swamp’s uplands this winter, but it’s all part of the District’s land management restoration efforts. The equipment harvested…

Top: Carl Wright, District senior water conservation analyst, left, and Nick Makris, District staff water conservation analyst, use the District’s computerized leak correlator to pinpoint the location of a known leak. Above: Nick Makris listens to a water valve to determine if he can hear a leak sound. Two weeks of work by District staff cost the City of Tarpon Springs nothing, but could save the city thousands of gallons of water per day. District water…

April is Water Conservation Month and a great time to improve your home without incurring the high cost of remodeling.Each week the Southwest Florida Water Management District is providing a few simple water conservation tips that the average resident can use. This week the focus is on checking for leaks and retrofitting your fixtures.Leak DetectionA dripping sink faucet can waste up to 30 gallons of water per day and a leaky toilet can waste up to 100 gallons of water per…

Extremely low water supplies in storage as region enters dry seasonThe Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board voted Tuesday to tighten water restrictions for all of Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties.The Governing Board has enacted these additional measures at the request of Tampa Bay Water, the region’s wholesale water supplier. Tampa Bay Water requested the District’s assistance because its water supplies have not returned to…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board Tuesday concurred with an emergency authorization allowing the Peace River/Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority (Authority) to utilize its existing Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) wellfields for the temporary production of ground water to meet regional demand.The Authority’s ASR wellfields are normally used to store excess treated surface water from its permitted Peace River withdrawals for later…

Board urges emergency status in Manatee and Sarasota countiesThe Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board voted today to extend the current Water Shortage Order, which restricts lawn watering throughout the District to one-day-per-week, until June 30.The water shortage order, which was declared by the District’s Executive Director David L. Moore, went into effect Jan. 16 and was originally scheduled to expire July 31. Since then it…

Hurricane Season Approaches Hurricane season is upon us again, even though some areas of the District haven’t even finished clearing away the debris from last season’s devastating series of storms. The 2004 Atlantic hurricane season produced 15 tropical storms and 9 hurricanes, 6 of which were major hurricanes. Florida experienced widespread damage from four of the majors — Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne. A major hurricane is classified as a category 3, 4 or 5…

On the morning of Jan. 9, 2010, after six consecutive days of freezing temperatures, District Executive Director Dave Moore called Alba Más, Tampa’s regulation director, for an assessment of the Plant City/Dover area in Eastern Hillsborough County. So far, so good, with only minimal impacts reported. However, beginning on the seventh consecutive day of freezing temperatures, and entering uncharted territory, the reports began flooding in of dry wells and sinkholes…

Slough Going Sarasota County is experiencing the benefits of the recently completed Deer Prairie Slough Restoration Project. The project goal was to restore the historic hydrology and improve the habitat value of the 3,200-acre Deer Prairie Slough, which is part of Sarasota County’s T. Mabry Carlton Jr. Memorial Reserve. The reserve, parts of which have been adversely impacted by ditching and draining efforts, lies within the Myakka River watershed, is part of the…

On a crisp November morning, District staff and members of the Alafia River Basin Board launched four canoes into the Alafia River. The basin includes the southern half of Hillsborough County and the southwestern portion of Polk County. The Basin Board members set out to experience the river — the most important part of the basin — and to talk with some concerned citizens who live along the river. The canoe trip took place along part of the 13-mile portion of the…

While the winds and rain of Hurricane Irma could be felt across the District for three days, the preparation and response went far beyond that time frame for District staff. As part of the District’s core mission of flood protection, staff immediately jumped into action to meet the needs of the community in a variety of ways. The District’s Emergency Operations Center was activated Sept. 5, days before the history-making storm would make landfall in Florida.…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board voted today to modify the tightened turfgrass restrictions for Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties, which will allow builders to sod and residents to replace lawns under a specific set of conditions.District staff met with members of the sod industry last week to discuss solutions to the extreme water shortage in the Tampa Bay area as well as the serious economic conditions affecting the sod…

At its June 15 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Manasota Basin Board adopted a proposed fiscal year 2006 (FY2006) millage rate of 0.160 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year.The tentative budget for FY2006 is $15,625,419, which represents an increase of $1,249,410 from the approved FY2005 budget. The increase in the budget is primarily due to an increase in property values and an increase in carryover funds from prior years as…

At its August 18 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Manasota Basin Board adopted a fiscal year 2005 (FY2005) millage rate of 0.160 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year.The budget forFY2005 is $14,376,009, which represents an increase of $3,516,099 from the approvedFY2004 budget. The increase in the budget is primarily due to additional state funding for the Facilitating Agricultural Resource Management Systems (FARMS) program and…

Southwest Florida Water Management District Executive Director David L. Moore today declared a modified Phase II Severe Water Shortage which 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 goes into effect January 16 and remains in place until July 31 unless otherwise…