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The 11th Annual Marion County Master Gardeners’ Spring Festival is the place where gardeners will have the opportunity to learn about water conservation in several ways. The festival is being held March 12 and 13 at the Marion County Extension Service Office in Ocala.Gardeners can learn about water conservation through micro-irrigation and rain barrel workshops. Other workshop topics include weed control, pest control, types of fertilizer, native plants, and how to…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board voted today to modify the tightened turfgrass restrictions for Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties, which will allow builders to sod and residents to replace lawns under a specific set of conditions.District staff met with members of the sod industry last week to discuss solutions to the extreme water shortage in the Tampa Bay area as well as the serious economic conditions affecting the sod…

At its June 15 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Manasota Basin Board adopted a proposed fiscal year 2006 (FY2006) millage rate of 0.160 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year.The tentative budget for FY2006 is $15,625,419, which represents an increase of $1,249,410 from the approved FY2005 budget. The increase in the budget is primarily due to an increase in property values and an increase in carryover funds from prior years as…

At its August 18 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Manasota Basin Board adopted a fiscal year 2005 (FY2005) millage rate of 0.160 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year.The budget forFY2005 is $14,376,009, which represents an increase of $3,516,099 from the approvedFY2004 budget. The increase in the budget is primarily due to additional state funding for the Facilitating Agricultural Resource Management Systems (FARMS) program and…

Southwest Florida Water Management District Executive Director David Moore modified a water shortage emergency order Wednesday that allows Tampa Bay Water to withdraw additional water from the Tampa Bypass Canal to help the City of Tampa meet its demand for potable water.The modified executive order, which is in effect until…

Construction is under way on a cooperative project between the Southwest Florida Water Management District and the City of Dunedin to restore approximately 30 acres of wetlands within the city’s Hammock Park.Preliminary clearing is being done at select project areas within the park. Hammock Park is located north of downtown Dunedin and east of Alternate U.S. 19 and is one of the last remnants of forest that was typical of this coastal region before the area was…

Southwest Florida Water Management District Executive Director David Moore signed a water shortage emergency order (order 08-043 ) Thursday that will allow Tampa Bay Water to withdraw additional water from the Tampa Bypass Canal to help the City of Tampa meet its demand for potable water.Tampa relies primarily on its Hillsborough River Reservoir to meet the water needs of 656,000 residents. As of Oct. 14,…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District would like to invite local schools to participate in this year’s World Water Monitoring Day activities.World Water Monitoring Day is actually a month-long, international outreach program that builds public awareness and involvement in protecting water resources around the world. The annual event invites students to monitor the quality of their local rivers, streams, estuaries, and other waterbodies from September 18 to…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board Tuesday approved the purchase of a perpetual conservation easement for a 300-acre parcel of land located within the District’s Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve. This property will be added to the 142,000 acres protected by the District through ownership or conservation easements within the preserve.The conservation easement is being purchased for $1.125 million with funds from the Florida Forever Trust…

The Southwest Florida Management District’s Governing Board approved funding Tuesday to use the remaining funds from a project that evaluates alternatives for reducing flooding and improving water quality within the Brooker Creek Watershed to do the same for three adjacent watersheds.The Brooker Creek Watershed is approximately 30 square miles located within Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties. This area has experienced significant hydrologic changes due to rapid…

The Water Shortage Order, which restricts lawn watering to one-day-per-week throughout the 16 counties within the Southwest Florida Water Management District, is in effect.The restrictions apply to the use of water from public and private water utilities as well as the use of all wells and surface water sources (ponds, rivers, etc.). The order will remain in place until July 31 unless otherwise modified or rescinded by the executive director or the District Governing Board.…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District and the Town of Redington Beach recently signed an agreement for a project that will reduce flooding and improve water quality.This project involves upgrading the stormwater system by adding inlets and storm piping, a Continuous Deflective Separation (CDS) unit, that filters out sediment from the stormwater runoff and the associated roadway reconstruction. These infrastructure improvements will be built within the area of 1st…

Gardeners will have the opportunity to learn some new gardening techniques at a Florida-Friendly Native Plant Landscaping Workshop being held this Saturday, Feb. 11 at South Florida Community College (SFCC), Hardee Campus.The free workshop is a cooperative effort among the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Peace River Basin Board, Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program (CHNEP), SFCC, and WGCU Public Media.Workshop participants will learn how to solve…

Sixteen Polk County teachers were awarded Splash! school grants through the Southwest Florida Water Management District.This year 157 Splash! grants were awarded across the District's 16 county region to educate students on Florida's water.Mary Margaret Hull, District lead communications coordinator, attributes the effectiveness of the grant program in Polk County to the strong partnership with Polk County Schools. Milt Huling, senior curriculum coordinator of science for…

Southwest Florida Water Management District Executive Director David L. Moore today declared a modified Phase II Severe Water Shortage which restricts lawn watering to one-day-per-week throughout the 16-county District.The restrictions apply to the use of water from public and private water utilities as well as the use of all wells and surface water sources (ponds, rivers, etc.). The order goes into effect January 16 and remains in place until July 31 unless otherwise…

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/, the "US Fish and Wildlife Service(U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)":http://www.fws.gov/, and the "Friends of Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge(Friends of Chassahowitzka)":http://friendsofchazz.org/ are holding a public open house at the newly acquired Three Sisters Springs property on "National Public Lands Day(National Public Lands Day)":http://www.publiclandsday.org/,…

*DeSoto County High School's* Jerry Waters was among the educators who were awarded Splash! school grants through the "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/.This year 206 "Splash! grants(Splash! School Grants)":/education/schoolgrants were awarded to educators across "the District's 16-county region":/data/map.Mary Margaret Hull, lead communications coordinator, attributes the effectiveness of the grant program in DeSoto…

Water Conservation Is Critical During Drought The District is continuing to step up its water conservation efforts during the state’s annual “Water Conservation Month” in April. Each year the District joins with the state Legislature, Tampa Bay Water and dozens of local governments to make the declaration. However, because the state is experiencing a severe drought, the message is even more timely. “Because April is part of Florida’s dry season, it…

Top: The finished baffle boxes at Lake Eva. Above: The Lake Menzie outfall before and after the restoration project. Stormwater runoff from urban areas flowing into Lake Eva in Haines City and Lake Menzie in Dundee is 60 to 80 percent less polluted thanks to projects cooperatively funded by the District. The two Polk County lakes were suffering from polluted runoff that flowed unchecked from urban areas. Since the local governments didn’t have the resources to…

For years the land was about the cattle, not about the water. Ranchers, wanting to take advantage of vast tracts of unspoiled land, built roads through the marsh to connect islands. The roads blocked the flow of water, the marsh dried up and cattle began wandering from island to island to graze. But the marsh is returning. Water is now flowing naturally between the Hernando pool of Tsala Apopka Lake and Potts Preserve, thanks to a restoration project the District…