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Left: Addison Bennett, granddaughter of District Executive Director Dave Moore, tries to stay dry at the Hampton Tract. Top right: Karen Fraley, Around the Bend Nature Tours, shows Brady Whalen from Boy Scout Troop 311 how to use a pump drill to start a fire. Above right: Emma Mason, Around the Bend Nature Tours, takes a visitor on a guided hike. More than 130 people braved the rain Feb. 27 at the District’s “Get Outside!” event at the … Read more

Gov. Charlie Crist recently appointed Douglas B. Tharp to the Governing Board of the Southwest Florida Water Management District.Tharp was appointed to a restructured seat representing Citrus, Lake, Levy and Sumter counties. The Governing Board was previously made up of 11 seats. Last year the State Legislature added two new seats for a total of 13. Tharp was appointed to the seat once held by Judy Whitehead. In April 2008, Whitehead was reassigned to represent Hernando and… Read more

Douglas B. Tharp took his oath of office Tuesday to serve on the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board.Tharp was appointed by Gov. Charlie Crist to a restructured seat representing Citrus, Lake, Levy and Sumter counties. The Governing Board was previously made up of 11 seats. Last year the State Legislature added two new seats for a total of 13. Tharp was appointed to the seat once held by Judy Whitehead. In April 2008, Whitehead was… Read more

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":http://www.WaterMatters.org will begin work May 12 in "Potts Preserve(Potts Preserve)":http://www.WaterMatters.org/recreation/areas/potts.html to restore the historic natural flow patterns of water between the preserve's marsh and the Hernando pool of Lake Tsala Apopka.District workers will remove the fill material associated with the "western dike" and the "middle road" which have… Read more

table(webalert). |*Who:*|The Tampa Port Authority, Hillsborough County and the Southwest Florida Water Management District.||*What:*|The Cockroach Bay Restoration Project represents one of the largest, most complex coastal ecosystem restorations ever developed for Tampa Bay.Before the restoration, this area suffered from a number of environmental problems, including habitat degradation, invasive plant infestation and poor water quality. Since the property was purchased by… Read more

The Central Florida Water Initiative (CFWI) regional water supply plan team will present a free, interactive webinar about the development of a regional water supply plan for the central Florida area at 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 29.The webinar will include an overview of the CFWI, highlights of the regional water supply planning process, a question and answer session and information on how to become involved in the process. The webinar is sponsored by the Polk County Board of County… Read more

Scott Reappoints Three to Governing Board Gov. Rick Scott recently reappointed Albert Joerger, H. Paul Senft and Doug Tharp to the District’s Governing Board. Joerger is from Sarasota and is the founder and president of The Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast. His new term ends March 1, 2015. Joerger is also Governing Board treasurer. Senft is from Haines City and is a self-employed business and insurance consultant. His new term ends March 1, 2015. Senft is… Read more

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/ (District) has partnered with the "Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition":http://floridawildlifecorridor.org/, as members of the exploration team travel through the District by walking, paddling or biking their way more than 700 miles from the Everglades Headwaters in Central Florida, across the Panhandle to the Alabama border. The expedition began Jan. 10 at Creek Ranch outside of Orlando. The… Read more

In October, the District launched a comprehensive education program, “Know Where It Flows,” to enhance the District’s ongoing efforts to improve the water quality in Crystal River/Kings Bay and the surrounding areas. “Kings Bay and other Citrus County areas have been particularly susceptible to water pollutants in ground water as a result of the area’s growth,” said Lizanne Garcia, Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) program manager. The District has… Read more

Volunteers of all ages pitched in to clean up a stretch of Hillsborough County shoreline. Adult and youth volunteers provided the manpower during a beach cleanup organized by the District’s Land Resources Department at the District’s Piney Point Tract in southern Hillsborough County. The cleanup coincided with National Public Lands Day, which gives Americans an opportunity to improve and enhance the public lands they enjoy. Many of the volunteers were District… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board recognized Tony Gilboy, the District’s well construction regulation manager, today for the award he received from the Florida Ground Water Association (FGWA) for his outstanding service to the association.The award was presented to Gilboy at the recent FGWA Convention and Trade Show in Orlando.Gilboy was honored for his outstanding contributions to the well industry. His contributions include the… Read more

For years the land was about the cattle, not about the water. Ranchers, wanting to take advantage of vast tracts of unspoiled land, built roads through the marsh to connect islands. The roads blocked the flow of water, the marsh dried up and cattle began wandering from island to island to graze. But the marsh is returning. Water is now flowing naturally between the Hernando pool of Tsala Apopka Lake and Potts Preserve, thanks to a restoration project the District… Read more

Today the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) announced the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will provide $638,550 to a new, 880-foot deep monitoring well in the District’s Most Impacted Area (MIA) of the Southern Water Use Caution Area (SWUCA) in Hillsborough County. District scientists will use data collected from the new well to better assess aquifer system dynamics, enhance groundwater modeling and determine potential water… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District's (District) Governing Board approved the purchase of a 4,357-acre conservation easement over a portion of the approximately 16,315-acre Carlton Horse Creek Ranch. The acquisition is in partnership with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Division of State Lands (DSL). DSL will negotiate a conservation easement over the remaining 11,958 acres. Horse Creek Ranch is located across both Hardee and DeSoto… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is inviting the media to tour the District’s restoration efforts at Weeki Wachee Springs on Monday, November 3 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.The project will improve water quality in the head spring and the upper river, as well as enhance the overall natural system. Project components include the removal of sediments, Lyngbya algae and other exotic vegetation as well as the revegetation of native plant species. The project area… Read more