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The Southwest Florida Water Management District's (District) Public Affairs Bureau recently received top honors at the Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA) 60th Annual Golden Image. The winners were announced last week at the Association's 79th annual conference in Orlando. Recipients of this prestigious awards competition demonstrate the very best examples of innovation, planning and design in public relations. The Golden Image Awards have become a standard of public…

June 2024Q:  What does the District do to prepare for hurricane season?A:  Year-round, the District operates 84 water control structures in its 16-county area. These structures assist with flood protection, manage lake water levels and prevent saltwater from flowing up freshwater streams and creeks. To prepare for hurricane season, staff conduct annual hurricane readiness checks of all the District’s structures to ensure they are…

Improving Water Quality Through Well Plugging Every day, millions of gallons of water are contaminated or wasted throughout the Southwest Florida Water Management District by free-flowing, improperly constructed, deteriorated or abandoned artesian wells.Many of these wells were built before current well construction standards were established. Therefore, many of the wells:

• Do not have enough casing and expose several aquifers of varying water quality to one…

Visitors can experience Florida’s freshwater springs through a variety of outdoor activities, musical entertainment and guest speakers during the 8th Annual Marion County Springs Festival, Saturday, Sept. 26, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Silver River State Park.Experts will speak about Florida’s springs and springs protection, as well as Marion County’s irrigation and fertilizer ordinances and Florida-friendly landscaping.In addition to the guest speakers,…

Longevity Recognized When Ron Vanlerberghe started working at the District, Lyndon B. Johnson was president, Florida was home to just over 6 million people, and the first issue of the alternative magazine “Rolling Stone” was about to hit newsstands. Thirty-five years later a lot has changed in our world, as well as the District. Florida now has more than 16 million people, “Rolling Stone” is considered mainstream, and Ron has become the longest serving District employee…

A New Port Richey apartment complex is the first in Pasco County to be certified under the Florida Water StarSM Community standard. Greencastle of Bayonet Point recently received its Florida Water StarSM certification. Florida Water StarSM is a voluntary certification program for builders, developers and homeowners. It encourages water efficiency in appliances, plumbing fixtures, irrigation systems and landscapes. The 80-unit apartment community, for…

Water Quality DataWater quality data are categorized under two major resource types — groundwater and surface water.Groundwater Quality Data provide information on existing groundwater quality conditions and water quality trends within the District’s groundwater resources, including springs. They also improve the District’s understanding of groundwater quality concerns, support development of watershed management priorities and plans, and…

An area home builder has been honored for the second time in one year for the use of water-wise landscaping.Rusaw Homes was presented with the Water-Wise Landscape Recognition Award Thursday at the Citrus County Builders Association Spring Parade of Homes event. This is a repeat performance for the builder, which also received the top award during the fall Parade of Homes.The winning design can be seen at Rusaw Homes’ Oakdale Anniversary model, 2819 West Lantana Drive…

Rand Baldwin and Jimmy Brooks (right), senior community affairs coordinators, pose with members of the National Guard while working together at a Hurricane Charley relief center. Rand Baldwin is a people person. He spends a great deal of his time, both in and out of the office, working with people in the community. Baldwin has worked at the District for over 30 years and has been in his current position since 1985. He graduated from the University of…

Your Questions Answered October 2022 Q: What is a water control structure? A: The primary purpose of the District’s water control structures is to manage the flow of water. Water control structures vary greatly in size and are used for multiple purposes. The District’s water control structures can be classified into three main categories: flood control, salinity barriers, and water conservation structures. These…

With the rainy season upon us, now is a great time to think about adding a rain barrel to your yard.Harvesting rainwater with a rain barrel helps supplement irrigation for a small cost. Storing rainwater also helps reduce stormwater runoff, which can lead to reduced levels of pesticides and fertilizers in our water. Many people make rain barrels out of inexpensive 50-gallon food-grade drums that were used to carry juices, olives, pickles, etc. Often you can find barrels…

Low water levels on Lake Panasoffkee have resulted in the growth of desirable native aquatic plants in more than 80% of the lake bottom according to state environmental scientists. The state agencies include the Southwest Florida Water Management District, Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.The Lake Panasoffkee Restoration Council has been in the process of dredging approximately eight million cubic…

Restoration Project Gives Site A New Look Looking at the 15 acres of restored habitat to the west of the Northside Christian School athletic fields in Pinellas County, one would never know the area was once used as a mining borrow pit and a construction dumpsite. The Joes Creek Habitat Restoration Project, a cooperative effort between Pinellas County and the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) program, wiped…

table(webalert). |Who:|Kyra InfoTech staff, and officials from the city of Lakeland, Polk County and the "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ .||*What:*|Open house for the first commercial property to receive a Florida Water StarSM certification from the Southwest Florida Water Management District. The new commercial building was constructed to make it more energy efficient and water conserving."Florida Water StarSM(…

Students record observations and learn about rain barrel irrigation. Christine Collins, owner of Wildrose Lawncare, and Lou Kavouras (far right), District deputy executive director, work together on the Curb Appeal Project. In November, the District recognized the very best in District-sponsored community and youth water resources education projects at the Partners in Watershed Education ceremony. The celebration was held at the Lake Mirror Complex in Lakeland.…

Award-Winning Restoration A place where people used to illegally dump everything from scrap metal to household waste is the site of an award-winning restoration project. The joint project between SWIM, Hillsborough County’s resource management section and the District’s Davis Tract restoration project received the Hillsborough County Planning Commission’s top environmental award, the Award of Merit, 2002. The 60-acre former landfill is part of the 354-acre…

Two Ocala homes were certified in December as "Florida Water StarSM Silver(Florida Water Star)":/conservation/florida_water_star by the "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/.The homes are the first in Marion County to receive the water-saving certification. Located in the Renaissance neighborhood of Ocala's On Top of the World development, they are equipped with water-efficient appliances and fixtures. "Florida-Friendly…

Governor Rick Scott appointed Jim Murphy to the Southwest Florida Water Management District's Governing Board. Murphy represents Polk County. Murphy, 57, of Lakeland, is the division president of Florida Sealing Products, Inc. He attended The Ohio State University. Murphy is appointed for a term beginning July 28, 2017, and ending March 1, 2021.Governing Board members are unpaid, citizen volunteers who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Florida Senate. The…

Left: District Governing Board Chair Todd Pressman speaks at the ceremony celebrating the 20-year restoration effort at Lake Maggiore. Center: Housh Ghovaee, District Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board member, releases fish into Lake Maggiore. Right: Aerial view of Lake Maggiore. St. Petersburg’s largest lake, Lake Maggiore, was recently restocked with 100,000 fish to mark the successful completion of a 20-year restoration effort. The restoration of the lake,…