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Modified Phase I Water Shortage Order remains in effect DistrictwideThe Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) Governing Board voted today to extend one-day-per-week watering restrictions for Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties until July 1. This extension mirrors the existing water shortage order currently in effect for Citrus, DeSoto, Hardee, Hernando, Manatee, Polk, Sarasota and Sumter counties; portions of Charlotte, Highlands and Lake…

  The drowning of thousands of chickens at several Masaryktown chicken farms was one of the catalysts for the creation of the District. From devastating flooding caused by hurricanes to severe droughts to an unprecedented freeze, major weather events have played an important role in shaping the District’s policies and procedures during the last 50 years…

Drilling more than half a mile below ground to find new sources of water in the Lower Florida aquifer (LFA). Finding new ways to reuse reclaimed water. Combining stormwater and reclaimed water to build a sustainable supply. These are some of the innovative projects the Central Florida Water Initiative is developing to meet the growing water needs of the five-county Central…

Twenty-one Polk County teachers and four private school teachers are 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…

Who: Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing and Basin Board members and staff, hundreds of volunteersWhat: District volunteers, awards presentation, youth educational activities, picnic lunch, games, hay ride, and live music.When: Saturday, March 14, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The award ceremony begins at noon.Where: Green Swamp West Meeting Facility, 13345 Ranch Road, Dade City, 33525Why: Volunteers play an important role in the District’s efforts to improve…

Water Stewardship of the Year Award Winner And the nominees for water stewardship are…” While the District’s Water Stewardship Awards program may not be as big as the Oscars, the program is like the Academy Awards because it recognizes excellence. In this case, excellence is in the form of outstanding stewardship of Florida’s water resources. The District’s Governing Board chose Virginia Frissell as the Water Stewardship of the Year Award winner for her project “…

Hispanic Outreach Nearly 10 percent of the people who live in the District are Hispanic, and for many, Spanish is their first language. To reach that audience with a water conservation message, the District developed the Hispanic Outreach Program. The idea behind the campaign began with the Governing Board’s Diversity Committee, said project manager John Walkinshaw. Spanish-speaking District employees also showed an interest in promoting the outreach. Alberto…

Defining Moment In an effort to make conservation more “user-friendly,” the Governing Board has adopted the term “Florida-friendly” to use in the District’s landscape management outreach and education projects. Florida-friendly will replace the terms “Xeriscape™” and “water-wise.” Why the change? Two reasons: concept and consistency. While Xeriscape landscapes are defined as landscaping that conserves water and protects the environment, some people still…

A site in Charlotte County named after Florida’s best-known reptile is undergoing a transformation. The District’s Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) program, in cooperation with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), is presently undertaking a multiphase ecosystem and hydrologic restoration project in the Alligator Creek Addition of the Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park. The 1,600-acre Alligator Creek Addition is owned by the FDEP…

Known for being a role model and a leader at the District, Roberta Starks has now received recognition from Hillsborough Community College (HCC). Starks was recognized at the college’s alumni award ceremony in December. The event, which was the first of its kind at HCC, honored 40 alumni in celebration of the college’s 40th anniversary. “The task for selecting only 40 remarkable alumni was a difficult one for our committee,” said Gwendolyn Stephenson, Ph.D., HCC…

A soon-to-be-completed restoration project at Weeki Wachee Springs State Park began as an idea Denise Tenuto had several years ago while waiting in the former attraction’s parking lot to pick up her daughter, who worked there as a lifeguard. “As I was waiting for her, I noticed the rain in the parking lot was flowing toward the springs,” said Tenuto, a District environmental coordinator who recently retired. When the District began its springs protection initiative…

Left: Mary Margaret Hull, District lead youth education coordinator, simulates the sounds of a thunderstorm during a “Rain Game” exercise with Countryside Montessori Elementary School students. Right: Countryside Montessori Elementary School students learn about the hydrologic cycle. District staff educated more than 1,000 students about water resources, conservation and water management careers at this year’s Great American Teach-In. The Great American Teach-…

From left: Frederick J. Buckman, Pasco County Parks and Recreation director; Jay B. Starkey, Jr.; Allen Altman, Pasco County School Board chair; Todd Pressman, District Governing Board member; and Lou Kavouras, deputy executive director for District Outreach, Planning, Board Services & Ombudsman, mark the opening of the Starkey Environmental Education Center exhibits with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Representatives from the Pasco County School Board, Pasco…

Five counties within the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s region are now under a Modified Phase III water shortage order due to below-normal rainfall this winter. The District’s Governing Board voted last month to declare the Phase III order for northern counties in the District’s region, which are: Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Levy, and Sumter as well as the City of Dunnellon and The Villages in Marion County. A Modified Phase I alert remains in effect for the…

Efforts to restore Lake Panasoffkee recently took a major step forward. The dredging of Step 2 of the Lake Panasoffkee Restoration Council’s four-step, multi-million dollar restoration plan began July 7. The Lake Panasoffkee restoration project involves dredging approximately 8.4 million cubic yards of sediment from the lake, which will improve fish habitat, restore the historic lake shoreline and improve navigation. The project will also restore approximately 920…

The District is collecting public input on the updated draft of the Regional Water Supply Plan, the tool that points the way to a water supply that can meet the needs of today and tomorrow. The challenge will be meeting growing water supply needs while also protecting the natural resources. The challenge can be met through vigorous planning, regional cooperation among governments and a commitment to conserve water and develop alternative water resources like reclaimed…

The District’s Governing Board recently voted to let water shortage restrictions expire due to significant improvements in the aquifer and river levels as a result of this summer’s above-average rainfall. Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties had been subject to District-declared once-per-week lawn watering restrictions and other stringent requirements. Thirteen other counties were under a drought advisory, which required water utilities to do extra enforcement…

Who: Lake Panasoffkee Restoration Council members, Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board members and staffWhat: The Council and the District will mark the completion of the Lake Panasoffkee Restoration project.When: Friday, May 29, 2009 at 10 a.m.Where: Coleman LandingWhy: The $28.3 million project was completed in November 2008. The 10-year project was designed to restore Lake Panasoffkee’s historic fish bedding areas, restore the historic lake…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is going for the “gold” when it launches its Florida Water Star Gold (FWSG) certification program March 25. The premier event will be at 10 a.m. at Glencairn Cottages, a new development in downtown Dunedin.FWSG is a voluntary certification program for builders. It encourages water efficiency in household appliances, plumbing fixtures, irrigation systems and landscapes, as well as water quality benefits from best…

Volunteers who take part in the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Land Resources Volunteer Program are a valuable resource. In fact, three groups who were honored for their voluntary efforts during last week’s Governing Board meeting in Brooksville saved the District between$50,440 and $91,044.According to the Points of Light Foundation, a nationwide volunteer network clearing house, volunteers save the District between $10 and $18 an hour in labor…