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The "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ will be conducting "controlled, prescribed burns" during August on the District's "Hálpata Tastanaki Preserve(Hálpata Tastanaki Preserve)":/recreation/areas/halpata.html in Marion County.Hálpata Tastanaki Preserve is located five miles east of Dunnellon. Approximately 1,535 acres of land will be burned in small, manageable units. The scheduled, managed burns are a part of… Read more

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ will be conducting "controlled, prescribed burns" during August on the District's "Conner Preserve(Conner Preserve)":/recreation/areas/conner.html in Pasco County.Conner Preserve is located four miles north of Land O' Lakes. Approximately 830 acres of land will be burned in small, manageable units. The scheduled, managed burns are a part of routine maintenance of lands managed by… Read more

*DeSoto County High School's* Jerry Waters was among the educators who were awarded Splash! school grants through the "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/.This year 206 "Splash! grants(Splash! School Grants)":/education/schoolgrants were awarded to educators across "the District's 16-county region":/data/map.Mary Margaret Hull, lead communications coordinator, attributes the effectiveness of the grant program in DeSoto… Read more

**Yankeetown School's Genie Sturtevant was among the educators who were awarded Splash! school grants through the "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/.This year 206 "Splash! grants(Splash! School Grants)":/education/schoolgrants were awarded to educators across "the District's 16-county region":/data/map.For the past seven years, the "Withlacoochee River Basin Board(Withlacoochee River Basin Board)":/about/basinboards/… Read more

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board(Governing Board)":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/about/governingboard on Monday set a March 2, 2010, deadline for well owners to file claims for damage suffered during the Jan. 3-13, 2010 freeze. Most eastern Hillsborough County residents whose wells were damaged when aquifer levels dropped have already called the "District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":http://watermatters.org to "report their… Read more

District Restructures to Support Focus on Core Mission A new executive director and leadership team is in place to move the District forward in meeting its core mission under the new budget realities. Executive Director Blake Guillory Executive Director Blake C. Guillory will serve as the District’s executive director. “This was a unanimous choice by the Board. Blake is the right person at the right time for this District and… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is preparing to repair a berm breach in the Morrison Pool.The berm surrounds the north sinkhole in the Morrison Pool and prevents water from Morrison Pool and Little Lake Henderson from flowing into the sinkhole when the lake is low.The District has received approval from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and is awaiting approval from the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct the work needed to repair the… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) is seeking public input to determine the priority of minimum flows and levels (MFLs) establishment for lakes, wetlands, rivers, streams and aquifers in the District as well as the establishment of water reservations. Legislation requires the District to review and, if necessary, revise this schedule each year.The District will hold a virtual public meeting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 29. Members of the public can… Read more

A flag flown over Camp Phoenix in Kabul, Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom will be featured during a special flag raising ceremony Oct 17, 9 a.m. at the Southwest Florida Water Management District's Tampa Service Office.Sgt. Eric Wolden, a member of the 53rd Infantry Brigade, was stationed at Camp Phoenix where he flew the flag on behalf of the District for the support it provided to the troops and for the moral support his wife Catherine received from District… Read more

Three Manatee County projects expected to reach up to 148,000 people were recently 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… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be treating water lettuce on the Rainbow River Dec. 12Dec 15. Infestations of water lettuce along the river in Marion County will be treated.Treatment involves using the aquatic herbicide Reward. Treatment areas will be posted with warning signs displaying treatment dates and applicable restrictions. Restrictions on Reward include no livestock watering for one day, no irrigation of crops for five days and treated river… Read more

Applications are available for teachers interested in applying for the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s 2005-2006 Splash! Mini-Grant Program. These grants provide teachers with funding for classroom projects on water quality, water conservation, alternative sources, water supply, flood protection or watersheds. The goal of the mini-grant program is to promote hands-on water education that teaches students about their local watersheds and the water resources… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District and the Wheelin’ Sportsmen are inviting disabled anglers to participate in a fishing derby.The derby takes place May 14 at the District’s Edward Medard Park and Reservoir, which is managed by the Hillsborough County Parks and Recreation Department. The Edward Medard Park and Reservoir is located in Hillsborough County on South Turkey Creek Road.The event is open to men, women and young adults who are disabled.… Read more

 Veronica Craw, District environmental section manager, accepts the award from Blake Guillory, Florida Stormwater Association (FSA) president, and Kurt Spitzer, FSA executive director. The Florida Stormwater Association (FSA) recognized District stormwater and restoration projects at the group’s annual conference in June. The Weeki Wachee Springs Stormwater, Sediment Removal, and Revegetation Projects are improving water quality in Weeki Wachee Springs… Read more

_More than 272,000 acres of dense seagrass digitally mapped_The Southwest Florida Water Management District recently completed a seagrass mapping project to monitor the long-term health of seagrass beds along the Springs Coast. The project involved digitally mapping more than 525,000 acres of submerged land from the mouth of the Anclote River near Tarpon Springs to the mouth of the Withlacoochee River. Seagrass generally grows in waters less than 14 feet deep and is an… Read more

The District’s birth was prompted by a hurricane. Its initial mission was to provide flood protection; however, by the end of the decade, the fledgling agency was already maturing to address broad-based water management needs. During the 1960 hurricane season, Hurricane Donna hammered Florida with 128-mph sustained winds and massive flooding. Donna caused storm surges of up to 13 feet in the Florida Keys and 11-foot surges along the southwest coast of Florida. Portions of… Read more

2007 marks the 20th Anniversary of the Surface Water Improvement and Management ActThe Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board today passed a resolution announcing October 2007 “Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) Month” to recognize 20 years of improving water quality and restoring habitats in 10 priority water bodies.In 1987, the Florida Legislature created the SWIM Act to protect, restoreand maintain Florida’s surface water bodies… Read more

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District's(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ "Governing Board(Governing Board)":/about/governingboard Tuesday renewed and modified a water use permit for the City of Clearwater.The permit increases the permitted quantities for the city. The previous annual average permitted quantity was 6.2 million gallons of water per day. The new permitted quantity is 8 million gallons per day.The increased quantities are based on… Read more

New environmental regulations recently went into law aimed at streamlining the state’s permitting process and giving applicants more options for authorization. Some provisions of the new law include:

• Required action on permit applications within 60 days of receipt of last timely requested material.
• Precludes government agencies from delaying action because of pending approval from other local, state or federal agencies.
• Provides for the…

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Overwatering in winter can encourage pests and diseaseThe Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) is reminding residents who irrigate their lawns to “Skip a Week” or more of watering during the cooler months of January and February.According to research by the University of Florida, grass doesn’t need to be watered as often during the cooler months. One-half to three-quarters of an inch of water every 10–14 days is sufficient. In fact, if your lawn… Read more