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The Southwest Florida Water Management District is proud to announce the recipients of the 2006 Community Education Grant Program. The grants, which are up to $5,000 each, will help fund projects that provide communities the opportunity to learn about water resources.This year the District awarded 34 grants Districtwide for a total of $151,278. Of 34 grants awarded, 11 were given to groups in Hillsborough County.The overall goal of the Community Education Grant Program is… Read more

Setting prescribed fires in controlled settings can reduce the risk of wildfires burning out of control, as many Floridians witnessed during the state’s wildfire emergency last year. That’s why the… Read more

Seventeen Manatee County teachers were awarded Splash! school grants through the "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/.Mary Margaret Hull, District lead communications coordinator, attributes the effectiveness of the grant program in Manatee County to the strong partnership with Manatee County Schools. Judy Griffin, curriculum specialist for Manatee County Schools, serves as the District's liaison to teachers and helped… Read more

Several members of the District’s Basin Boards and District staff were able to get a closer look at some innovative, water-conserving farming techniques when they visited two area commercial nurseries. The tour, which was organized by the Florida Nurserymen, Growers and Landscape Association (FNGLA), featured the Riverview Flower Farm’s Wimauma location and the Sun City Tree Farm, as well as a tour of the University of Florida’s Gulf Coast Research and Education… Read more

The District’s Governing Board recently approved SWIM plans for the Homosassa and Chassahowitzka rivers, meaning all five first-magnitude springs in the District now have established plans for improvement of those water bodies. The Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) Act requires the District to maintain a priority list of water bodies of regional and statewide significance and develop plans and programs for their improvement.  The Homosassa and… Read more

The Sumter County Extension will receive a $3,500 grant from the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s 2007 Community Education Grant Program.The Sumter County Extension was awarded the funds for the Lake Panasoffkee Preservation Celebration, which will provide more than 1,000 residents with the opportunity to learn more about the history, restoration and future preservation of Lake Panasoffkee. This one-day event will include a fishing derby, a river cleanup… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District hasdeclared a water shortage emergency and authorized the Englewood Water District to help the Peace River/Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority (Authority) by providing water to Charlotte County Utilities.The Authority requested the emergency authorization, in conjunction with Englewood and Charlotte County, in order to… Read more

At the final budget hearing on Sept. 28, the Governing Board adopted a total fiscal year (FY) 2011 budget of $279.8 million and a millage rate of 0.3770 mill for the Districtwide General Fund. The approved budget is $19.1 million, or 6.4 percent, lower than the FY2010 budget, continuing a downward trend that began with FY2009. The $19.1 million decrease in the budget from FY2010 brings the District budget down to levels last seen in FY2005, when the budget was $279.3… Read more

District Extends Water Restrictions The Governing Board extended Phase I water shortage restrictions for the District’s entire 16-county area through Feb. 29, 2012, because of a disappointing summer rainy season and an approaching winter that is expected to be drier than normal. This means lawn and landscape watering remains limited to a two-day-per-week schedule, and residents may only water before 10 a.m. or after 4 p.m. Some local governments have stricter local… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board today approved a project to reduce groundwater pumping up to 1,076,100 gallons per day (gpd) at a Highlands County citrus grove.The Facilitating Agricultural Resource Management Systems (FARMS) program is a cost-share reimbursement program that conserves water and protects water quality.The FARMS project, proposed by Turner Groves Limited Partnership-Hickory Grove, has an existing water use permit that… Read more

Cockroach Bay is located in Tampa Bay, the District’s highest priority SWIM water body, and is one of the largest, most complex ecosystem restoration projects ever developed for the Tampa Bay estuarine ecosystem. The 1980s was a decade of added responsibility for the District. A number of environmental programs were created by the Legislature during these years and, as a result, staff realigned priorities to accomplish multiple significant undertakings.… Read more

Polk County Utilities customers may be eligible for a $50 rain sensor rebate from the utility and the "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":http://watermatters.org, which could save them up to 100 gallons of water per day. The District and Polk County Utilities have joined forces to offer rebates to Polk utility customers who add a rain sensor to their irrigation system. The rain sensor rebate is intended to help 1,295… Read more

More water is flowing in DeSoto County thanks to the completion of a $3.6 million pipeline. The five-mile pipeline, known as the DeSoto County Regional Transmission System (RTS) Extension, connects the county to the Peace River/ Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority’s water treatment facility. This pipeline is part of a larger alternative water supply project that will allow for growth, while preserving groundwater supplies for existing agricultural users. The… Read more

Area Returns to Phase III Water Restrictions In August the District’s Governing Board voted to reduce the water restrictions in the Tampa Bay Water service area from Modified Phase IV (or Critical) to Modified Phase III (or Extreme) for potable water use. The Board voted to ease the water restrictions because Tampa Bay Water has been able to store 8.3 billion gallons of water in the 15-billion-gallon C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir. However, District staff… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s water conservation restroom trailer will make its Pasco County debut when it appears at the 3rd Annual Pasco County Extension Service Open House and Plant Sale. The event is being held October 23 at the Pasco County Fairgrounds in Dade City.This popular and practical water conservation restroom trailer has appeared at more than half a dozen community festivals within the District’s Pinellas-Anclote River and… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s water conservation restroom trailer will make its Pasco County debut when it appears at the 3rd Annual Pasco County Extension Service Open House and Plant Sale. The event is being held October 23 at the Pasco County Fairgrounds in Dade City.This popular and practical water conservation restroom trailer has appeared at more than half a dozen community festivals within the District’s Pinellas-Anclote River and… Read more

District Honored For Medard Reservoir Rehabilitation Project The District’s Operations Department has some new “hardware” to show off. The District recently received the American Public Works Association (APWA) Contractor of the Year Award for its excellent work on the Medard Reservoir Rehabilitation Project. The District was one of three private and public organizations that received the award in the state of Florida. “The Operations Department is very pleased to… Read more