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Charlotte County Utilities residential customers are now eligible to participate in a toilet rebate program aimed at conserving water.The toilet rebate program, which is cooperatively funded by the county and the Southwest Florida Water Management District's Peace River Basin Board, offers rebates to replace high-volume toilets with water-efficient, low-flow toilets or high-efficiency toilets. Low-flow toilets use 1.6 gallons per flush or less while high-efficiency toilets…
_The Extended Order Allows Extra Lawn Watering Day, If Needed_The "Southwest Florida Water Management District's Governing Board ":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/about/governingboard/voted today to extend the Phase II Water Shortage in the Tampa Bay; however, the extended order will allow up to two watering days per week. In December 2013, the Governing Board enacted Phase II restrictions for lawn watering throughout Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties, which allowed…
The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board today approved a project to reduce groundwater pumping up to 197,000 gallons per day (gpd) at a Charlotte County citrus and cattle company.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 Diner Citrus & Cattle Company and OSS, LLC, is located upstream from the City of…
The Southwest Florida Water Management District is teaming up with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s (FDEP) Department of Parks and Recreation on a restoration project aimed at cleaning up the Homosassa Springs headspring, located within the Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, and the Blue Waters area of the Homosassa River.The project will remove 25,000 cubic yards of accumulated sediment, which causes reduced water quality when the sediment is…
The "Southwest Florida Water Management District's(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ "Governing Board(Governing Board)":/about/governingboard Tuesday modified a water use permit for the City of Tarpon Springs.The modified permit increases the permitted quantities for the city. The previous annual average permitted quantity was 1.38 million gallons of water per day. The new permitted quantity is 4.2 million gallons per day.The increased quantities will allow the…
Two Charlotte County projects expected to reach up to 23,000 people were recently awarded Community Education Grants from the "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/.The overall goal of the Community Education Grant program is to actively engage adults in water-related issues including conservation, protection and preservation. Funded by the "District's Basin Boards(Basin Boards)":/about/basinboards/, the program is…
Left: Bruce Wirth, a District deputy executive director; Sallie Parks, Governing Board member and co-chair ex offico of the Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board; and Cheryl Johnson, secretary of the Alafia River Basin Board, helped plant a tree to celebrate the completion of the restoration project. Center: Dozens of volunteers planted marsh grass to help complete the restoration project. Right: Many volunteers brought their children to help at the volunteer planting.…
Stormwater SystemsA stormwater system is designed to collect and manage runoff from rainwater. They are specifically designed to help prevent flooding and remove pollutants from the water, and they are required for most new development since the 1980s. When rainwater lands on rooftops, parking lots, streets, driveways and other hard surfaces, the rainfall that doesn’t soak into the ground is called stormwater runoff. Stormwater runoff carries pollutants such as litter…
The North American Lake Management Society (NALMS) recently awarded the Southwest Florida and St. Johns River water management districts with the Technical Merit Award in the area of research for their work on minimum flows and levels (MFLs.)
NALMS is a professional organization that produces an international, peer-reviewed scientific journal, Lake and Reservoir Management, as well as a quarterly magazine, LakeLine.
The award was presented at the NALMS annual…
A Firm Basis
Last year’s very active hurricane season, complete with above-normal rainfall, reminded Floridians about the importance of knowing exactly where the state’s floodplains lie.
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), flooding is responsible for more damage and economic loss in the United States than any other natural disaster. In fact, flooding caused more than 900 deaths and more than $55 billion in damages nationwide from fiscal year (…
Jerry Rice, chair; Judy Whitehead, vice chair; Jennifer Closshey, treasurer; and Neil Combee, secretary, were all elected to their positions in May.
A unanimous vote at the May Governing Board meeting elected Talmadge G. “Jerry” Rice as Governing Board chair of the Southwest Florida Water Management District.
“I have had the privilege to serve under four very dynamic and effective chairs, Ronnie Duncan, Tom Dabney, Watson Haynes and Heidi McCree,” said Rice. “…
This summer the District coordinated restoration efforts on two tracts of District-owned land in Manatee County — the Little Manatee River Southfork Tract and the Edward W. Chance Reserve’s Gilley Creek Tract.
Inmates Assist With Restoration Efforts at Gilley Creek Tract
Will VanGelder, District senior land manager, and Greg Taylor, District senior heavy equipment operator, supervised and assisted the inmates who worked on the restoration project.
The…
Just east of New Tampa’s subdivisions is an area where riders can wander through shaded forested wetlands and sunny pine flatwoods.
The Oak Ridge Equestrian Area is a 1,000-acre wilderness made to order for equestrian enthusiasts. The area is part of the Lower Hillsborough Wilderness Preserve, one of the largest premier contiguous recreation areas in Hillsborough County. While the Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department manages many park…
About 30 volunteers and District staff recently spent an evening cleaning invasive algae out of Weeki Wachee Springs in Hernando County.
The volunteer event was a coordinated effort by the District, the state park and local rotary clubs to remove an algae known as Lyngbya. This event was part of a long-term maintenance plan for a District restoration project completed in 2009 designed to help keep the spring and river healthy.
While not all…
At its July 25 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Manasota Basin Board adopted a fiscal year 2008 (FY2008) millage rate of 0.1484 mill, which is .0116 less than the current fiscal year. This reduction is in accordance with the tax reduction mandated by the Florida Legislature.The FY2008 millage rate has been set equal to 97 percent of the rolled-back rate in compliance with House Bill 1B, the tax reform legislation signed into law by Gov.…
The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) invites the public to a workshop on
Tuesday, Dec. 19 at 5:30 p.m. at the River Greens Golf Course located at 47 W. Lake Damon Drive in Avon Park. The purpose of the workshop is to allow for public comment on the proposed minimum and guidance levels for Lake Damon in Highlands County.
During the workshop, District staff will present the technical basis for the proposed minimum levels for Lake Damon. Minimum levels…
The Southwest Florida Water Management District is gathering input to improve the identification of flooding risks in the Braden River watershed in Manatee County.The District is serving as a cooperating technical partner for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on its national effort to update and modernize the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs). Most of the current FIRMs are 10 to 30 years old and outdated because of natural and physical changes caused by…
David Moore, executive director, reads the plaque honoring John Parker as his family looks on.
A canoe launch at the Springs Coast Environmental Education Center on the Weeki Wachee River bears the name and memory of John Parker, a District employee who died in a car accident last spring.
“Generations of school children will learn about John Parker’s life as they visit here and learn to become good stewards of the environment,” said Judy…
_First test this Saturday, Oct. 3 at noon_The Southwest Florida Water Management District will begin monthly audible testing on Saturday, Oct. 3 of three sirens installed near the Edward Medard Park reservoir in southeast Hillsborough County.The audible testing will continue to occur the first Saturday of each month at noon to ensure these sirens perform properly. During testing, the sirens will sound for about 15 seconds and are expected to reach a two-mile radius.The…