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A pirate obsessed with water resources will be looking for a few good “mateys” at World Rivers Day Fest, Saturday Sept. 17 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Brooker Creek Preserve Environmental Education Center.Captain Brackish will talk to his new friends about his three main water concerns – conservation, pollution and monitoring.Water monitoring is one of the key topics at World Rivers Day.The first 200 attendees will receive water friendly care packages…

Small portion of debris removed from area sinkholes. The District has completed a three-year project to improve water quality in the District’s springs by removing debris from sinkholes and areas with high aquifer permeability. Over the three-year period, 90.77 tons of debris were removed from 18 sinkholes and other karst features in Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties. Some of the items removed from the sinkholes included shopping carts, newspaper stands…

The Hillsborough River will get a dose of spring cleaning this Sunday, April 22 when Lowry Park Zoo’s Boy Scouts of America Zoo Troop 47 holds its annual cleanup from 8 a.m. until noon. The cleanup will focus on the Lowry Park Boat Ramp area and River Park by the Sulphur Springs water tower.Other volunteer groups, including Cub Scouts and their parents, Orange Grove Middle School volunteers, and teachers from the Lowry Park Zoo’s “Zoo School,” will…

As the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) continues its efforts to protect the Weeki Wachee River, the public should be aware they may see District staff and contractors working in and along the river, including the portion deemed a springs protection zone. …

From left: Teens pitch in to clean up the Hillsborough River; center: District staff were ready to answer questions during the post cleanup picnic; right: Maritza Rovira-Forino, Governing Board member and chair ex officio of the Northwest Hillsborough Basin Board, joined in with volunteers. This November more than 1,000 volunteers descended upon the banks of the Hillsborough River and other Tampa waterways as part of the 19th Annual Mayor’s Hillsborough River…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board Tuesday adopted its Fiscal Year 2009 (FY2009) millage rates and a budget that is less than the current fiscal year. FY2009 runs from Oct. 1, 2008, through Sept. 30, 2009.The District’s total FY2009 budget is $376.5 million. That is 4.7 percent lower than the adopted budget for FY2008, which was $395 million. The $18.5 million decrease in the budget is primarily due to the $21.4 million reduction in ad…

As the District continues its efforts to protect the Weeki Wachee River, the public should be aware they may see District staff and contractors working in and along the river, including the portion deemed a springs protection zone.  The District regularly conducts important work that helps protect…

In October, the Southwest Florida Water Management District will celebrate the Hillsborough River and the Hillsborough River watershed with a series of events along the river.The District’s Hillsborough River Basin Board has declared the week of Oct. 20 through 27 as “Hillsborough River Watershed Awareness Week.” The participating city and county governments plan to recognize the week, which was modeled after a similar event in April that focused on the Peace River…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board recently adopted minimum flows for portions of the Alafia and Myakka rivers, along with minimum and guidance levels for five lakes.The 5 lakes include: Lakes Allen, Harvey and Virginia in Hillsborough County; Lake June-In-Winter in Highlands County; and Lake Parker in Polk County.A minimum flow or level is the limit at which further water withdrawals will cause significant harm to the water resources and…

A Water Use Caution Area, or WUCA, is an area where regional action is necessary to address cumulative water withdrawals which are causing or may cause adverse impacts to the water and related natural resources or the public interest. The District Governing Board designates WUCAs and establishes rules that enhance the protection and/or…

This project restored habitat, including critical manatee habitat, and increased safety for visitors. Project Overview  The District restored the shoreline around Three Sisters Springs to repair the eroded shoreline and prevent future erosion. These improvements benefit the Crystal River/Kings Bay spring system by restoring habitat, including critical manatee habitat and increasing safety for visitors.  Background The shoreline surrounding the…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be treating water hyacinths and water lettuce on portions of the Braden River March 6-9. The sites are located south of State Road 70 in Manatee County.Treatment involves the spot application of the aquatic herbicide Reward to scattered infestations. Treatment areas will be posted with warning signs displaying treatment dates and applicable restrictions. Restrictions on Reward include no livestock watering for one day,…

A project in Marion County featuring educational sessions about the ecology and other environmental issues surrounding Rainbow Springs was recently awarded a Community Education Grant from the "Southwest Florida Water Management District":http://www.watermatters.org.Twelve grants were awarded Districtwide this year for a total of $50,319. This is the 15th year Community Education Grants have been available. These grants currently help fund projects that provide communities…

A project in Citrus County featuring educational sessions about the ecology and other environmental issues surrounding Rainbow Springs was recently awarded a Community Education Grant from the "Southwest Florida Water Management District":http://www.watermatters.org.Twelve grants were awarded Districtwide this year for a total of $50,319. This is the 15th year "Community Education Grants":http://www.WaterMatters.org/CommunityGrants have been available. These grants help fund…

We All Live in a Watershed Land is very important to the water cycle and shares a strong connection to our water resources. Did you know that everything we do on land can affect the health of our water? That is because we all live in a watershed! A watershed is any area of land that water flows across or through. Where is the water going? Downhill of course. Water in a watershed trickles and flows toward a common body of…

With spring break season approaching, the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District), along with other local and state partners, wants to remind Chassahowitzka River visitors about the recreational best practices that will help protect the river and reduce ecological impacts. Recreational activities can have a direct impact on the health of the river. For example, visitors leaving kayaks while on the river have trampled vegetation and eroded riverbanks. Also…

The watershed includes a rich mosaic of natural habitats: hardwood swamps, pine flatwoods, sandhills, oak hammocks, salt barrens and cypress domes. Saw palmetto thrives in the watershed’s flatwoods and sandhills where the sandy soil is well-drained. It forms dense colonies with ground-hugging, serpentine trunks and clusters of green, fanlike fronds. A variety of trees also make their home here, including sweet gum, water locust, laurel oak, slash pine and the bald…

Water is restless; it likes to move on a constant journey known as the water cycle. Gravity makes it flow downhill, off your roof, into creeks, down rivers and even over giant waterfalls. Some water soaks into the ground through percolation, but most of it ends up filling the oceans, which cover over two-thirds of the planet. The water cycle doesn’t end in the oceans though. Water at the sea’s surface is able to…