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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…

May 2025Q: 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 structures allow the District to provide…

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…

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…

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…

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 …

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…

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…

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…

The ROMP Objectives

• Provide information about the groundwater systems within the District.
• Monitor saltwater intrusion along the coast.
• Identify areas of poor groundwater quality.
• Install wells for water level and water quality monitoring.

About the Program The majority of the water used within the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) comes from groundwater sources and it is the District’s…

10-year project scheduled for completion in OctoberThe Southwest Florida Water Management District is inviting the media to tour the restored lake and spoil disposal area of the Lake Panasoffkee restoration project on Friday, Oct. 10, 2008 from 9 a.m. to noon.The $26.9 million project was designed to restore Lake Panasoffkee’s historic fish bedding areas, restore the historic lake shoreline and improve navigation of the third largest lake in west-central Florida. When…

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…

Two Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) projects received funding from the Central Florida Water Initiative (CFWI) conservation cost-share program. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) will provide $151,758 to pay for these projects. The following projects, located in Polk County, are estimated to save approximately 49,500 million gallons per day:

• The Polk Regional Water Cooperative’s rebate program will offer various…

table(webalert). |Who:|The Florida House Foundation of Sarasota, The Community Housing Trust, Dale Lewis Construction and 30 local workers, the "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us, the Florida Solar Energy Center, The University of Florida IFAS Extension, and Dwell Green.||*What:*|Open house for the first Neighborhood Stabilization Program home to receive a "Florida Water StarSM Gold(Florida…

Governor Ron DeSantis appointed Jack Bispham and Seth Weightman to the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board. Bispham represents Manatee County and Weightman represents Pasco County. Bispham, of Myakka City, is the owner and operator of Red Bluff Plantation. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Agriculture from the University of Florida. Bispham is appointed to a four-year term. Weightman, of Dade City, is municipal services manager with…

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…

A Polk County builder and landscaper are being recognized for incorporating water conservation and water-wise landscaping into a model home’s design with the county’s first Water-Wise Landscape Award.Tapia Construction and McDowell Landscape Services took first place for the Leonardo IV model in the Polk County Fall Parade of Homes. The Parade of Homes is being held through Oct. 28, 4 6 p.m. during the week and 11 a.m. 6 p.m. on the weekend. Visitors can see the model at…