Search Content

On Tuesday, the "Governing Board of the Southwest Florida Water Management District":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/about/governingboard/ adopted a FY2014-15 millage rate of 0.3658 mill, four percent lower than the current fiscal year. For the owner of a $150,000 home with a $50,000 homestead exemption, the District tax would be $36.58 a year, or about $3.05 per month. The fiscal year runs from Oct. 1, 2014, through Sept. 30, 2015. The total FY2014-15 budget for the District… Read more

Who: Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) staff, state and local elected officials from Pinellas, Manatee and Hillsborough counties, Department of Environmental Protection staff, former Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) staff, SWIM volunteers, SWIM cooperators and consultantsWhat: The District will host an event at Cockroach Bay to celebrate 20 years since the Florida Legislature passed the SWIM Act. The event… Read more

Two officers of the District Governing Board are stepping up to new leadership roles, and two Board members are serving their first terms as officers. The District Governing Board unanimously elected Ronald E. Oakley to serve as Governing Board chair during its May meeting. Oakley served as the Board treasurer and vice chair before his election as chair. “I’m excited to continue to work to protect our natural resources, and I’m humbled that the Board would place so… Read more

“This could change the way we think about construction in the future.”  —Ruffin Gray A Lakeland business saved thousands of gallons of water and paid less for utilities its first year by constructing its new headquarters to Florida Water StarSM standards. Kyra InfoTech, an information technology consulting business headquartered in Lakeland, used 70 percent less water than a comparable business in the area, according to Ruffin Gray,… Read more

With more than 1,000 people moving to Florida every day, the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) has developed the Water 101 campaign, a program to educate new and existing residents as well as communities about how they can help protect local water resources and save water and money.Water is a limited resource in Florida that we all play a role in protecting, which makes it important to understand your personal impact. The choices you make as a homeowner… Read more

Who: Representatives from the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Land Resources Department, Keep Hillsborough County Beautiful and volunteersWhat: As part of National Public Lands Day, the District’s Land Resources Department is coordinating a volunteer beach trash pick up along the District’s Piney Point Tract, which was acquired from TECO with funds from the Florida Forever Program. This property, which consists of 2,376 acres of uplands and coastal habitats,… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is seeking public input about the order in which "minimum flows and levels (MFLs)":http://www.WaterMatters.org/mfl/ for lakes, rivers, streams and aquifers in the District will be determined.A minimum flow or level is the limit at which further water withdrawals will cause significant harm to the water resources or environment. The District Governing Board sets these limits as part of achieving the delicate balance between… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District's Starkey Wilderness Preserve, which includes J.B. Starkey Wilderness Park and the Serenova Tract, will close early at 4 p.m. Dec. 1-3 for nighttime hog hunts.Only permitted hunters will be allowed on the preserve from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. during these dates. All of the permits for these hunts have been sold.J.B. Starkey Wilderness Park is located at 10500 Wilderness Park Boulevard in New Port Richey. The Serenova Tract is located… Read more

Water Wings and Wild Things returns to the Circle B Bar Reserve after being held at the IMC Agrico Park for the past two years. The popular Polk County event was temporarily moved because the Nature Discovery Center was under construction.This free, annual event takes place Saturday, Nov. 1, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.Water Wings and Wild Things features nature-based art vendors, workshops, Florida animals, hands-on activities and guided tours of the reserve. Some of the family… Read more

 Clockwise from top left:1: This marked plant indicates beetles were placed on it so the rancher does not tamper with it. 2: One tropical soda apple fruit can contain hundreds of seeds. 3: Mike Terry, District plant management crew leader, and Dr. Julio Medal prepare to release TSA leaf-eating beetles. 4: The small beetles come from Medal’s cages in Gainesville. 5: This is an example of what a TSA plant looks like after the beetles are through with it.… Read more

Left to right: Pinky Mathew retrieves samples from storage. Jackie Robbins prepares samples for testing for alkalinity concentrations. Matt Jablonski loads the auto sampler for the Inductively Coupled Plasma Spectrophotometer. Ron Lubosco configures the auto analyzer that tests for nitrogen concentrations. The District’s chemistry laboratory recently ranked No. 1 overall in a study that tested the quality of several laboratories in the southeast region of the… Read more

According to the National Weather Service, parts of the Tampa Bay area may see freezing temperatures during early morning hours on Friday. This has prompted the "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ to advise residents who live near Plant City and Dover to switch off the pumps on their wells Thursday night and leave the pumps off until the temperatures warm up in the morning. Temperatures are expected to drop below 34… Read more

Parts of the Tampa Bay area may see freezing temperatures during early morning hours on Thursday. This has prompted the "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":http://watermatters.org to advise residents who live near Plant City and Dover to switch off the pumps on their wells Wednesday night and leave the pumps off until the temperatures warm up in the morning. Temperatures are expected to drop below 34 degrees for three to… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) is collecting public comment on the proposed minimum and guidance levels for Cypress, Garden and Halfmoon lakes in Hillsborough County. In accordance with the directive in the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Emergency Order to conduct all public meetings electronically, the District will provide virtual outreach now through Sept. 8 at… Read more

Nature enthusiasts who visit the District’s Potts Preserve from late July through October should keep an eye out for a rare orchid first discovered on this Citrus County land. Joel DeAngelis, a District senior land management specialist, discovered the orchid in October growing in the open grassland of Potts Preserve. DeAngelis brought Paul M. Brown, a research associate with the University of Florida Herbarium, to the site in November. “When Paul saw it, he… Read more

Four Hillsborough County projects expected to reach up to 73,000 people were awarded Community Education Grants from the "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/.This year the District approved 29 grants Districtwide for a total of $120,471. This is the 14th year "Community Education Grants(Community Education Grant program)":/business/communitygrants have been available. These grants offer reimbursement up to $5,000 to… Read more

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us will be conducting "controlled, prescribed burns" during May and June on both the Deer Prairie Creek Preserve and neighboring Schewe Tract."Deer Prairie Creek Preserve(Myakka River - Deer Prairie Creek Preserve)":/recreation/areas/myakka-deerprairie.html, which is jointly owned and managed by the District and Sarasota County, lies between Interstate 75… Read more

According to the National Weather Service, parts of the Tampa Bay area may see freezing temperatures during early morning hours on Friday. This has prompted the "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":http://watermatters.org to advise residents who live near Plant City and Dover to switch off the pumps on their wells Thursday night and leave the pumps off until the temperatures warm up in the morning. Temperatures are… Read more

Left: Joel DeAngelis, senior land management specialist, shows volunteers Porgy Smith and Ellen Puckett how to remove the invasive plants. Top right: Samantha DeVary, volunteer, shows how small some of the invasive plants can be. Bottom right: Joel DeAngelis shows volunteers the area where they will be removing invasive plants. An invasive plant species, green wandering jew, was beginning to get a foothold at the District’s Panasoffkee Outlet property in Sumter… Read more

Why a Septic-to-Sewer Conversion Program is Key to Protecting our Springs Guest Editorial The Springs Coast is one of the most vibrant and dynamic regions in Florida, providing both economic and ecological benefit to the communities that call it home. The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) is the leading scientific agency on springs in the region with the mission of improving and restoring these natural treasures. Over the years,… Read more