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The Southwest Florida Water Management District and Pinellas County are working on a study to determine if water from Lake Tarpon can be used to supplement the county’s North Reclaimed Water System.By supplementing the reclaimed water system, more customers can be connected to the system, which will help offset groundwater pumping.Based on the premise that the reclaimed water system may be supplemented by up to 3 million gallons per day at different times throughout… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is inviting the public to come out and “Make a Splash” at a special event focusing on the Brooker Creek watershed on Saturday, Oct. 23 at the Kash N’ Karry located at the corner of Gunn Highway and Van Dyke Road. The event is being held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.This Make a Splash with Projec – Water Education for Teachers) event allows kids of all ages to learn about water through hands-on activities that… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is inviting the public to come out and “Make a Splash” at a special event focusing on the Brooker Creek watershed on Saturday, Oct. 23 at the Kash N’ Karry located at the corner of Gunn Highway and Van Dyke Road. The event is being held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.This Make a Splash with Projec – Water Education for Teachers) event allows kids of all ages to learn about water through hands-on activities that… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is inviting the public to come out and “Make a Splash” at a special event focusing on the Brooker Creek watershed on Saturday, Oct. 23 at the Kash N’ Karry located at the corner of Gunn Highway and Van Dyke Road. The event is being held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.This Make a Splash with Projec – Water Education for Teachers) event allows kids of all ages to learn about water through hands-on activities that… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is inviting the public to come out and “Make a Splash” at a special event focusing on the Brooker Creek watershed on Saturday, Oct. 23 at the Kash N’ Karry located at the corner of Gunn Highway and Van Dyke Road. The event is being held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.This Make a Splash with Projec – Water Education for Teachers) event allows kids of all ages to learn about water through hands-on activities that… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is inviting the public to come out and “Make a Splash” at a special event focusing on the Brooker Creek watershed on Saturday, Oct. 23 at the Kash N’ Karry located at the corner of Gunn Highway and Van Dyke Road. The event is being held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.This Make a Splash with Projec – Water Education for Teachers) event allows kids of all ages to learn about water through hands-on activities that… Read more

Volunteers and District staff are pulling together to help keep public lands clean from the uplands to the coastline. They were scheduled to take part in the 17th annual National Public Lands Day and the 25th annual International Coastal Cleanup Day. Both days were recognized on Sept. 25 this year, and volunteers across the country and around the world worked to clean up public lands and coastal waterways. The District owns and manages approximately 436,000 acres of… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board approved funding for two reclaimed water studies to maximize the beneficial use of reclaimed water in the region.The first study is for a traditional reclaimed water supply project that would involve constructing a pipeline from one or more of several waste water treatment plants to the Tampa Electric Company (TECO) power plant station in Polk County and Mosaic Fertilizer. Possible sources of the… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will recognize Hulbert Homes, Inc. as the first builder in Polk County to have a Florida Water Star Gold ℠ (FWSG) certified home Friday, April 17 at the Polk County Builders Association Parade of Homes Kick-Off Party, 5 p.m. at 2505 Bramble Ridge Dr. in Lakeland.FWSG is a voluntary certification program for builders. It encourages water efficiency in household appliances, plumbing fixtures, irrigation systems and landscapes, as… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) awarded $108,304 in grants to 51 educators within the District as part of the Splash! school grant program. The program provides up to $3,000 per school to enhance student knowledge of freshwater resources in grades K-12.Splash! grants encourage hands-on student learning through STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) activities as well as engagement of the greater school community through awareness… Read more

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… Read more

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… Read more

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… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board Tuesday renewed and modified a water use permit (WUP) for the City of Lakeland.The modified permit increases the permitted quantities for the city. The previous annual average permitted quantity was 30.2 million gallons of water per day (mgd.) The new permitted quantity is 35.03 mgd.The quantity was increased because the permit expiration date was changed from 2014 to 2028, with a corresponding increase… Read more

As teachers go back to school, the Southwest Florida Water Management District would like to remind them about another important date to add to their calendar. The deadline to "apply for a Splash! mini-grant":/education/minigrants/ is Sept. 11, 2009.The goal of the mini-grant program is to promote hands-on water resources education that teaches students about their local watersheds and the freshwater resources within them. Splash! mini-grants provide up to $5,000 per school… Read more

The school year may have come to an end, but educators interested in securing grant funding for next year can begin applying online for a Southwest Florida Water Management District Splash! mini-grant.Grant funding is for classroom projects that focus on water quality, natural systems, water conservation, alternative water sources, flood protection or watersheds.The goal of the mini-grant program is to promote hands-on water resources education that teaches students about… Read more

Pinellas County waters saw an overall increase of 150 acres in seagrass coverage, according to recently released results from the District’s 2014 seagrass mapping study. Pinellas County waters — St. Joseph Sound, Clearwater Harbor North and Clearwater Harbor South – now collectively support 17,334 acres of seagrass beds.  The District maps seagrass in five estuaries spanning the five coastal counties of Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, Sarasota and Charlotte… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District), along with other local and state partners, launched the Weeki Wachee River Education Campaign to inform river visitors about the recreational best management practices that will help protect the river and reduce ecological impacts. A recent ecologically based study found direct links between recreational use on the river and environmental damage. For example, visitors leaving kayaks while on the… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board today approved a project that will reduce groundwater pumping at a strawberry farm in southeastern Hillsborough County.The project involves installing an integrated irrigation system that will include a weather station, soil moisture sensors, and automated valves at Berry Bay Farms.Installing a weather station helps farmers irrigate more precisely, based on weather conditions. For example, during frost-freeze… Read more

As the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) continues its efforts to protect the Weeki Wachee River, the public should be aware they may see District staff and contractors working in and along the river, including the portion deemed a springs protection zone. … Read more