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The Marion County Spring Festival will be more “Florida-friendly” because of the addition of a water conservation restroom station. The Southwest Florida Water Management District is bringing the water conservation restroom station to the event, which is being held Mar. 11-12 at the Extension Service Office in Marion County.This festival, which is expected to attract approximately 15,000 people, includes workshops, exhibits, and a plant sale. Workshop topics… Read more

District leaders recently helped celebrate the ribbon cutting of the Crystal River to Duke Energy Reclaimed Water Project. It will provide highly treated wastewater, known as reclaimed water, from the City of Crystal River to the Duke Energy power plant facility in Citrus County.  Infrastructure was built to transport all reclaimed water from the City of Crystal River’s wastewater sprayfield to the Duke Energy power generation complex, located west of US 19.… Read more

More water will be available to fill up Tampa Bay Water’s C.W. “Bill” Young Reservoir as a result of two executive orders,Order No. SWF 07-042 andOrder No. SWF 07-043, signed today by David L. Moore, executive director of the Southwest Florida Water Management District.The orders allow wholesale water… Read more

Nestled just north of the Inverness city limits in Citrus County is 8,500 acres of pristine Florida wilderness with more than 30 miles of trails and four camping areas where you can hike, camp, bike, boat, fish — even bring your horses. Freshly restored to its historic natural flow patterns, Potts Preserve is bordered by the Hernando pool of the Tsala Apopka Lake system to the west and the Withlacoochee River to the east. Purchased by the District to protect the area’… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District has revised and extended the water shortage emergency order for the Peace River/Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority to protect the drinking water supply for more than 250,000 residents. The order is now scheduled to expire on October 26, 2008 unless it is rescinded or extended by District’s Governing Board or executive director. The order was slated to expire June 25, 2008.The executive order signed Wednesday will… Read more

Left: Deborah Kynes, Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council chair; Sallie Parks, Governing Board member; Kendra Antoine, senior communications coordinator; Maritza Rovira-Forino, Governing Board member; and Manny Pumariega, Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council executive director, accept the Future of the Region Award for the “Hillsborough River Watershed Awareness Week” project. Right: Sallie Parks, Governing Board member; Kurt Zuelsdorf, Community Education Grant recipient… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will use a water conservation restroom trailer to spread the word about water conservation this year at the Florida State Fair, February 10-21.“Special events like the Florida State Fair allow us to bring our water conservation message to a wide audience,” said Beth Bartos, communications manager for the District. “Thousands of people will be exposed to our message each day.”The trailer features air… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District recently recognized three Citrus County projects as outstanding school, community grant or volunteer programs that focus on water resources education. A total of 52 projects were recognized during the October 7 Reflect, Connect, Celebrate Water Resources Education Conference at the Brooker Creek Preserve Environmental Education Center in Tarpon Springs.To select the awardees, District staff reviewed grants applied for by… Read more

Seven Hillsborough County projects that will reach up to 35,275 people were awarded Community Education Grants from the Southwest Florida Water Management District. These grants provide up to $5,000 to help fund projects that provide communities an opportunity to learn about water resources.This year the District awarded 32 grants Districtwide. This is the 12th year Community Education Grants have been available.The overall goal of the Community Education Grant program is… 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

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board Tuesday approved the purchase of a parcel of land in connection with the Lake Hancock Project. The property is an important part of the creation of a greenway link.The parcel is approximately 590 acres of land and is located along the eastern shore of Lake Hancock. Located west of Thornhill Road, south of the Polk Parkway and State Road 540, the property is being purchased for $5,225,000 from Tom and Tham… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board today approved a project that will reduce groundwater pumping at a citrus grove in Polk County.The project involves installing an integrated irrigation system that will include a weather station, soil moisture sensors, and automated valves at the Camp Mack Grove, owned by Lykes Brothers, Inc. The grove is located northeast of Lake Wales.Installing a weather station helps farmers irrigate more precisely, based… Read more

Left: Mark Hammond, resource projects director, shows the Lake Hancock property and project areas. Right: District Governing Board members and staff visit the current outfall at Lake Hancock. (From left to right, Board Members Ron Oakley, Paul Senft and Carlos Beruff with District staff members Mark Hammond and Chuck Lane.) District staff and Governing Board members recently toured Lake Hancock in Polk County for an update on the progress of several projects… Read more

Two water management districts are partnering with Marion County Utilities to offer customers rebates of up to $100 for replacing their high-flow toilets.The "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ and "St. Johns River Water Management District(St. Johns River Water Management District)":http://floridaswater.com are partnering to help "Marion County Utilities(Marion County Utilities)":… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District recently recognized two Pasco County projects as outstanding school, community grant or volunteer programs that focus on water resources education. A total of 52 projects were recognized during the October 7 Reflect, Connect, Celebrate Water Resources Education Conference at the Brooker Creek Preserve Environmental Education Center in Tarpon Springs.To select the awardees, District staff reviewed grants applied for by teachers… Read more

Sharing Science With Students Members of the District’s Peace River Basin Board and the District’s mascot, Ripply, helped celebrate the grand opening of a new exhibit at the Explorations V Children’s Museum in Lakeland. The Water Matters! exhibit is a hands-on display that illustrates the water cycle and explains the importance of protecting natural water resources. The exhibit encompasses a 10- by 14-foot area of the museum and includes an activated water cycle, a… Read more

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has awarded more than $7.5 million in grants for water-quality enhancement projects in Citrus County to protect the health of Kings Bay and Crystal River's unique spring-fed systems comprised of more than 70 freshwater springs throughout a 600-acre bay. "We are pleased to provide springs funding for projects that will help restore and protect these important waterways," said DEP Secretary Jon Steverson. "This suite… Read more

Despite reports that the District did not take measures to minimize flood risks for Lake Thonotosassa from Hurricane Milton, District structure operators lowered the lake to the maximum amount possible before the storm.The District also conducted a federally funded debris removal project earlier this year on Flint Creek, which is natural creek where water is released from the lake north to the Hillsborough River. Trees and limbs from a previous storm were removed to help… Read more

A Polk County Builders Association (PCBA) program aimed at teaching residents about Florida-friendly landscaping was recognized as a finalist in the nonprofit best practice category of the 2009 Sustainable Florida Best Practice Awards. The “Polk Is Florida-Friendly” program, which received funding from the District’s Alafia River, Hillsborough River and Peace River basin boards, promotes widespread adoption of Florida-Friendly Landscaping® best management practices… Read more