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The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be spot treating infestations of water hyacinth and water lettuce on the Braden River April 14-17. The portion of the river that will be treated is 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 water use restrictions. Treated… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be treating water hyacinths and water lettuce on portions of the Withlaccochee River June 13-16.Two sections of the river will be treated. The first site is located between County Road 581 to State Road 200 in Citrus, Marion and Sumter counties. The second site is located between County Road 48 and the Panasoffkkee Outlet River in Citrus and Sumter counties.Treatment involves the spot application of the aquatic herbicide… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Withlacoochee River Basin Board Thursday adopted a fiscal year 2007 (FY2007) millage rate of 0.265 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year.The budget for FY2007 is $10,214,705, which is an increase of $1,558,584 from the approved FY2006 budget. The main reason for this increase is higher property values. FY2007 will run from Oct. 1, 2006, through Sept. 30, 2007.The Withlacoochee River Basin Board area covers… Read more

Southwest Florida Water Management District employees recently removed 15 tons of tires and 68 tons of other garbage and debris from a sinkhole near Crews Lake in Pasco County.The removal efforts are part of the District’s Springs Cleanup Initiative to remove solid waste from sinkholes and other karst features within the Springs Coast Basin, which includes Citrus, Hernando, Pasco and Marion counties. The project is in its second year and has been approved for a third year.… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be treating water hyacinth and water lettuce on the section of the Braden River south of Highway 70 during the week of October 26-30.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 water use restrictions. Treated river water should not be used for drinking, watering livestock or… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be treating water hyacinth and water lettuce on a portion of the Peace River Jan. 17-19. The treatment area is located between Bartow and Wachula in Polk and Hardee counties.Treatment involves the spot application of the aquatic herbicide Reward to scattered infestations. Treated areas will be posted with warning signs displaying treatment dates and applicable restrictions. Restrictions on Reward include no livestock… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District has implemented the first project in the Lower Hillsborough River recovery effort.The District began pumping 11 cubic feet per second (cfs) of water, or 7.1 million gallons per day (gpd), from the Tampa Bypass Canal to the Hillsborough River Reservoir on December 31 as part of the Tampa Bypass Canal Diversion Project. In turn, 8.25 cfs, or 5.3 million gallons per day, is being pumped from the reservoir to the base of the dam… Read more

The District preserves hundreds of miles of freshwater shoreline along many of the most beautiful rivers and lakes in the region.Fishing is allowed along the banks of District water bodies and by boat unless an area is posted closed to fishing. All fishing on District lands is subject to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission license requirements and regulations.How to contact… Read more

Sometimes pollution is easy to see. Garbage and oily chemicals make water look nasty, but pollution can also be invisible. So how do you know if a pond, lake or river is healthy? Scientists test the water to help them find out — and so can you. With a water testing kit and some help from an adult, you’ll be able to test TEMPERATURE, TURBIDITY… Read more

With spring break season approaching, the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District), along with other local and state partners, wants to remind Weeki Wachee River visitors about the recreational best practices that will help protect the river and reduce ecological impacts.  An ecologically based study found direct links between recreational use on the river and environmental damage. For example, visitors leaving kayaks while on the river have trampled… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be treating water hyacinth and water lettuce on the section of the Peace River between Ft. Meade and Bowling Green during the week of Aug. 3-7.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 water use restrictions. Treated river water should not be used for drinking, watering… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be treating water hyacinth and water lettuce on the section of the Peace River between Bartow to Ft. Meade during the week of July 13-17.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 water use restrictions. Treated river water should not be used for drinking, watering livestock… Read more

A reservation defines a quantity of water set aside from the water-use permitting process for the protection of fish and wildlife or public health and safety.OverviewIn 2020, the District established a reservation for water that is stored in Lake Hancock and released to Lower Saddle Creek for recovery of minimum flows in the upper Peace River. A reservation sets aside water from consumptive use (i.e., from being included in a permitted water withdrawal) for the protection of… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be conducting “controlled, prescribed burns” during the months of October through December on the District’s Myakka River Project property. The property is located between I-75 and U.S. Hwy. 41 and between Myakka River and the North Port. The scheduled, managed burns are a part of routine maintenance of lands managed by the District. Approximately 1,000 acres of land may be burned in small, manageable… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be conducting “controlled, prescribed burns” during January and February on the District’s Myakka River Project property. The property is located between I-75 and U.S. Hwy. 41 and between Myakka River and the North Port. The scheduled, managed burns are a part of routine maintenance of lands managed by the District. Approximately 1,000 acres of land may be burned in small, manageable units.According to… Read more

At its August 16 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Hillsborough River Basin Board adopted a fiscal year 2006 (FY2006) millage rate of 0.285 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year.The budget for FY2006 is $15,875,555, which represents an increase of $4,058,230 over the approved FY2005 budget. The increase in the budget is primarily due to an increase in property values and revenue from the state’s newly created Water Protection and… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board Tuesday approved a plan to complete a comprehensive study of the Withlacoochee River watershed. The ongoing study was being conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) until federal funding dried up. Over the next three fiscal years the District will budget approximately $2 million to complete the study tasks.The first portion of the study that identified water resource issues in the… Read more

At today’s meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Hillsborough River Basin Board adopted a fiscal year 2007 (FY2007) millage rate of 0.285 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year.The budget for FY2007 is $21,078,998, which is an increase of $5,203,443 from the approved FY2006 budget. The increase is primarily due to proceeds from the sale of surplus land and increased property values. FY2007 will run from Oct. 1, 2006, through… Read more

This second SWUCA Five-Year Assessment has found that the District and its partners have achieved further progress toward:

• Continuing to meet the water supply needs of the region for all use categories;
• Achieving further reductions in overall groundwater use from the Upper Floridan aquifer to…

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At its June 9 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Hillsborough River Basin Board adopted a proposed fiscal year 2009 (FY2009) millage rate of 0.2547 mill, which is the same rate as the current fiscal year. The Hillsborough River Basin Board area covers portions of Hillsborough, Pasco and Polk counties.The proposed budget for FY2009 is $20,020,887 which is an increase of $1,971,863 from the approved FY2008 budget. The increase is primarily due… Read more