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WhoThird- and fourth-grade Wildwood Elementary School students; Louise Ross, Director of Elementary Education for the Sumter County School Board; and Southwest Florida Water Management District Youth Education staffWhatDistrict Youth Education staff will visit a third- and fourth-grade class at Wildwood Elementary School to observe water education projects funded through its Splash! mini-grant program.Ms. Benachoice Caruthers third-grade students will demonstrate their…

 Left: Jim W. Veal, Sr., George L. Buhmeyer and Phyllis Hanson-Moffitt unveiled the plaque that recognizes Evan A. “Billy” Merritt, David C. Hanson and the other Lake Panasoffkee Restoration Council members. Right: Attendees set off on a lake tour following the ceremony. District Board members and staff, as well as members of the Lake Panasoffkee Restoration Council, recently celebrated the completion of a ten-year project to restore Lake Panasoffkee. The…

At its August 19 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Peace River Basin Board adopted a fiscal year 2006 (FY2006) millage rate of 0.195 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year.The budget for FY2006 is $13,321,519, which is an increase of $3,126,709 from the approved FY2005 budget. The increase in the budget is primarily due to an increase in property values, increases in funding from local governments for Cooperative Funding projects, and…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board last week adopted interim rules for water use permits in the Central Florida Coordination Area.The Coordination Area has limited traditional groundwater supplies that will not be adequate to meet all future demands, necessitating the need to develop alternative water supplies.The rules are part of the Action Plan that coordinates efforts among the Southwest Florida, South Florida and St. Johns River…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District, in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), this week is beginning removal of hurricane-generated debris.Removal will focus on the Peace River and its tributaries within Charlotte, DeSoto, Hardee, and Polk Counties. Portions of the Alafia River and Flint Creek in Hillsborough County are also within the scope of this project.The first work areas include…

A devastating weather year led to the creation of the District and weather continues to guide the District’s policies and procedures during the last six decades. As the District celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, today’s water management decisions are strongly guided by the floods, freezes and droughts of the past. The District was founded in response to a destructive year of flooding in 1960 caused by a spring rainfall event that brought 27 inches of rain…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) invites the public to a workshop on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020, at 5 p.m. at Polk’s Nature Discovery Center located at the Circle B Bar Reserve at 4399 Winter Lake Road in Lakeland. The purpose of the workshop is to allow for public comment on the proposed water reservation for Lake Hancock and Lower Saddle Creek. A water reservation defines a quantity of water set aside from the water use permitting process for the…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District's Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board has teamed up with the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, Pinellas County Animal Services, and the Humane Society of Pinellas to sponsor "Pooches for the Planet," which kicks off with an event this weekend.Started by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, the campaign promotes proper disposal of dog waste to prevent water pollution. Just like human waste, dog waste poses a threat to both public health and…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board Tuesday renewed and modified a water use permit (WUP) for DeSoto County Utilities.The modified permit increases the permitted quantities for the county. The previous annual average permitted quantity was 415,000 gallons of water per day (gpd.) The new permitted quantity is 821,600 gpd, which is an increase of 406,600 gpd.The quantity was increased to meet the water demands associated with the expansion of the…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) awarded $108,937 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…

Jay Yingling, senior economist, Planning Department A District employee with more than 23 years of experience in water resource economics has taken the helm of the Florida Section of the American Water Resources Association (AWRA). Jay Yingling, a senior economist in the District’s Planning Department, was elected president of the Florida Section last year. “I became involved with the AWRA Florida Section because I was looking for an…

Two Hernando County projects were awarded Community Education Grants from the Southwest Florida Water Management District. The grants, which are up to $5,000 each, will help fund projects that provide communities the opportunity to learn about water resources.This year the District awarded 49 grants Districtwide for a total of $171,444. This is the 10th year Community Education Grants have been available.The overall goal of the Community Education Grant Program is to…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) awarded $113,138 in grants to 52 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…

A former student intern used her District experience to emphasize the importance of fresh, clean water to residents along the Amazon.  Kaylie Kushmer traveled to the Amazon River in Southern Colombia and Brazil last month to help drill wells, run potable water lines to a school and educate children on the hydrologic cycle. Kushmer is the daughter of Danny Kushmer, government affairs program manager.  Kaylie’s trip was in coordination with Wine to Water…

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…

Above, plantings at the Tampa office are beyond the building eaves, requiring less irrigation.  Below, fixture supply lines are required to be reinforced. As in most District offices, water-saving fixtures are used.  The Tampa Service Office campus has the first water management district building to be certified under the Florida Water StarSM commercial standard. It’s also only the second government building in the state to be certified…

A cooperatively funded project between the Southwest Florida Water Management District and the WateReuse Foundation will help water managers determine the best way to store and distribute reclaimed water.The goal of the study is to understand the process of how reclaimed water changes or degrades during seasonal storage and distribution.The study focuses on determining how potential pathogens and nuisance organisms may grow, re-grow or proliferate in reclaimed water.…

At its August 17 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Manasota Basin Board adopted a fiscal year 2006 (FY2006) millage rate of 0.160 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year.The budget for FY2006 is $20,235,533, which represents an increase of $5,859,524 from the approved FY2005 budget. The increase in the budget is primarily due to an increase in property values, an increase in carryover funds from prior years as compared to FY2005 and…

table(webalert). |Who:|The Hernando County Housing Authority and the Southwest Florida Water Management District.||*What:*|Ribbon cutting ceremony for Magnolia Gardens, the first community in Florida to be certified under the Florida Water Star℠ standard.The 55 and older community will receive a plaque for completing the voluntary certification program for builders, developers and homeowners, which encourages water efficiency.The 60-unit apartment community met the…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) awarded $108,937 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…