Search Content

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board Tuesday adopted its proposed Fiscal Year 2009 (FY2009) millage rates for the General Fund and the eight Basin Boards.The Governing Board adopted a proposed FY2009 millage rate of 0.3866 mill for the District’s General Fund, which is the same as the current fiscal year. FY2009 will run from Oct. 1, 2008, through Sept. 30, 2009.The total proposed FY2009 budget for the District is $375.8 million, 4.9 percent… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management’s Peace River Basin Board honored students and teachers from Lakeland Christian School and Barbara Carlton for their commitment to water resources.The board presented the students and teachers from Lakeland Christian School with a Water Stewardship Award and Carlton with a special recognition award.The board chose the Lakeland Christian School’s “Water Wiseguys” project to receive the Water Stewardship Award… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management’s Peace River Basin Board honored students and teachers from Lakeland Christian School and Barbara Carlton for their commitment to water resources.The board presented the students and teachers from Lakeland Christian School with a Water Stewardship Award and Carlton with a special recognition award.The board chose the Lakeland Christian School’s “Water Wiseguys” project to receive the Water Stewardship Award… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management’s Peace River Basin Board honored Students and teachers from Lakeland Christian School and Barbara Carlton for their commitment to water resources.The board presented the students and teachers from Lakeland Christian School with a Water Stewardship Award and Carlton with a special recognition award.The board chose the Lakeland Christian School’s “Water Wiseguys” project to receive the Water Stewardship Award… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be treating water hyacinth and water lettuce on portions of the Braden River April 30 through May 3. The treatment areas 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 that display treatment dates and water use applicable restrictions. Treated river water should not be… Read more

A study of the fish and invertebrates in the Weeki Wachee River estuary will help the Southwest Florida Water Management District in establishing minimum flows for the Weeki Wachee River.Aimed at determining the freshwater needs of biological communities associated with the river, the study is being conducted by the University of South Florida’s College of Marine Science.Researchers have been collecting fish and invertebrates, such as pink shrimp and blue crab, on a… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be treating water hyacinth and water lettuce on portions of the Manatee River Jan. 14-17. The treatment areas are located south of State Road 64 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. Treated river water should not be used for drinking,… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be treating water hyacinth and water lettuce on portions of the Braden River Jan. 28-31. 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. Treated river water should not be used for drinking, watering… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Managemet Distrit (District) in cooperation with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will be treating hydrilla on the Lake Panasoffkee Outlet River March 31 and April 1, weather permitting. Hydrilla will be controlled on the Outlet River, which flows from Lake Panasoffkee to the Withlacoochee River. The aquatic herbicide Aquathol K will be applied. There are no restrictions on the use of treated water for swimming,… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be treating water hyacinth and water lettuce on portions of the Withlaccochee River Nov. 6-9.The section of the river being treated is located between State Road 41 and State Road 200 in Citrus, Marion and Sumter counties.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… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be treating water hyacinth and water lettuce on portions of the Withlaccochee River Sept. 25-28.The section of the river being treated is located between County Road 476 and State Road 48 in Citrus, Hernando and Sumter counties.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… Read more

Focus Groups Focus groups are interviews, conducted by a trained moderator, among a small group of respondents. The interview is conducted in an unstructured and natural way where respondents are free to give views from any aspect. The District uses focus groups to acquire feedback regarding attitudes, behaviors and knowledge about water conservation and water quality. Focus groups have also provided valuable feedback for educational and campaign messages.  … Read more

Two additional events are being added to the list of hands-on activities and workshops taking place during Hillsborough River Watershed Awareness Week, which runs Nov. 15-22.The new events include a shoreline cleanup on Nov. 15 and a Frog Listening Network presentation on Nov. 20. Details for all of the week’s events are listed below.The Hillsborough River Watershed Awareness Week is a cooperative effort between the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s… Read more

At its June 4 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board adopted a proposed fiscal year 2009 (FY2009) millage rate of 0.3701 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year.This millage rate, combined with a reduction in property values as estimated by the Pinellas and Pasco county property appraisers, will result in an estimated 9 percent decrease. These estimates will be updated when the property appraisers… Read more

The District encourages water conservation by partnering with local governments and utilities to provide landscape and irrigation efficiency programs. A certified irrigation professional will evaluate your landscape or irrigation system and provide a list of recommendations to improve efficiency. To find out more information, please contact one of the following participating programs in your area. City of St. Petersburg (727) 892-5688 … Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) in cooperation with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will be treating hydrilla on the Lake Panasoffkee Outlet River Aug. 21, weather permitting. Hydrilla will be controlled on the Outlet River which flows from Lake Panasoffkee to the Withlacoochee River. The aquatic herbicide Aquathol K will be applied. There are no restrictions on the use of treated water for swimming, fishing or irrigating… 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.  A recent 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… Read more

 The threatened Florida scrub-jay lives in a “scrub” community with scrub oaks, rosemary shrubs, rusty lyonia shrubs, sand pine trees, saw palmettos and prickly pear cactuses. This species only lives in Florida and does not migrate like other birds. Rather, the Florida scrub-jay typically stays within a four- to six-mile territory throughout its life.The effects of increased development and agriculture have reduced the population of scrub-jays. However, multiple state… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be treating water hyacinth and water lettuce on portions of the Withlaccochee River July 10-13.Two sections of the river will be treated. The first site is located between State Road 44 and County Road 581 in Citrus and Sumter counties. The second site is located between State Road 48 and the Panasoffkee Outlet in Citrus and Sumter counties.Treatment involves the spot application of the aquatic herbicide Reward to… Read more

The Hillsborough River will get some tender loving care from the Lowry Park Zoo’s Boy Scouts of America Zoo Troop 47 and employees from JPMorgan Chase.The zoo youth groups received a $2,069 grant from the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s 2006 Community Education Grant Program to help fund their River Clean-Up project on April 22. The grant funding comes from the District’s Hillsborough River Basin Board, which includes portions of Hillsborough… Read more