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The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board Tuesday approved the third phase of a project that will reduce groundwater pumping at a citrus grove in Charlotte County.TRB Groves, LLC is a 1,113-acre citrus grove located just north of Myrtle Slough which is in the Shell Creek watershed and the Southern Water Use Caution Area (SWUCA).The project, which was implemented in three phases, includes the construction of a 68-acre surface water irrigation reservoir,…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is working with the cities of Bradenton and Palmetto as well as Manatee County to study the benefits of connecting their existing reclaimed water systems.The study will show how much reclaimed water can be taken from the City of Bradenton to be reused by the City of Palmetto and Manatee County over the next 20 years.The study will also develop preliminary designs for the pumping, transmission and control facilities required to…

Project will help meet minimum flows in the Upper Peace RiverThe Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board Tuesday authorized the implementation of the Lake Hancock Lake Level Modification Project.The project will raise the lake’s water level by raising the control elevation of the existing outflow structure to store additional water that later can be released into the Upper Peace River during dry periods. The project is a critical component of the…

A Southwest Florida Water Management District project will help a Manatee County tomato and potato farm reduce groundwater pumping by at least 50 percent.The project is at 4 Star Tomato, Inc.’s Long Creek Farm and is part of the District’s Facilitating Agricultural Resource Management Systems (FARMS) program, which is a cost-share reimbursement program that conserves water and protects water quality.Long Creek Farm is a 1,240-acre farm located in eastern Manatee…

Two area home builders were recently recognized for their use of water-wise landscaping.Fidelity Homes and Pruett Builders both received the Water-Wise Landscape Recognition Award Friday at the annual Manatee and Sarasota County Home Builders Association Parade of Homes banquet. Fidelity Homes’ Cordoba model won the Manatee County award, while Pruett Builders’ Mar a Lago II model won the Sarasota County award.The Water-Wise Landscape Recognition program is a competition…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) has released as much water out of Lake Tarpon as possible, however anticipated storm surge from Hurricane Helene is expected to overtop the structure. The District cannot prevent saltwater from the storm surge from entering the freshwater lake. Additionally, water cannot be released from the lake until the storm surge recedes. Once the water levels from the storm surge fall below the lake level, water discharge…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board Tuesday approved a project that will reduce groundwater pumping at Royce Ranch.The project involves installing a weather station, soil moisture sensors and automated pump controls at the citrus farm owned by the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, which funds the purchase of state parks and other state lands. Royce Ranch is located in central Highlands County.Installing a weather station…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board Tuesday approved two projects that will reduce groundwater pumping in Hillsborough County.MD Council and Sons, Inc.The first project is at MD Council and Sons, Inc., a 60-acre strawberry and melon farm, located within the Little Manatee River watershed in southern Hillsborough County.This project involves constructing a surface water reservoir, two surface water irrigation pump stations, filtration and…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District and the City of Anna Maria are moving forward on a project that will reduce flooding and improve water quality.The project involves the design, permitting and construction of retention swales, inlet controls structures and baffle structures for three drainage basins.The three drainage basins are the North Bay/Tarpon Basin, the North Shore/Jacaranda Basin, and the South Drive/South Bay Area. Together, these three basins are…

h3. *_Improperly Applied Fertilizers Are Harmful to Our Water Bodies_*The "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ kicked off a new multi-media public service advertising campaign this week to educate residents on how to fertilize their lawns appropriately.Recent studies have shown that rising nitrate levels in many local water bodies can be traced to fertilizer. Nitrate is a form of nitrogen that is found in inorganic…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board is dedicating an additional $448,340 to clean up debris related to Hurricane Charley.The District had previously approved $472,340 to clean up debris in the Peace Creek Drainage Canal in Polk County.The latest funding will be used to remove Hurricane Charley-related debris from Flint Creek in Hillsborough County and portions of the Peace River.The total cost of the Flint Creek cleanup project is $220,000…