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Who: Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing and Basin Board members and Executive Director David L. Moore; St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker; The Pier Aquarium Board of Director’s President Lari JohnsonWhat: The District and The Pier Aquarium are celebrating the dedication of an education station in honor of Roy G. Harrell, Jr., who served on the District’s Governing Board from Nov. 1985 until Feb. 1998.The education station, located at The Pier…

 Photo Courtesy Jason Polk Beneath your feet exists a part of Florida few ever see but all should value. Deep below the earth’s surface, caverns have formed by water seeping into cracks and slowly dissolving the rock below. Over thousands of years, these voids become larger and create sinkholes and caves. That water can flow into disappearing streams, and underground rivers and then flow back up to the land surface as springs. These features are…

Members of the Peace River Basin Board and District staff recently set out on a fact-finding mission to the Orlando Wetlands Park. The group is exploring options on how to improve the water quality leaving Lake Hancock. The Wetlands Park is an example of one option under consideration. Lake Hancock is in the headwaters of the Peace River watershed that extends 120 miles downriver to Charlotte Harbor, an estuary of national significance and a Surface Water Improvement…

Above left: This series of pictures shows the dredging machine, the pipe through the lake that carried dredged material to the spoil site and the spoil site. Above right: Anglers enjoy Lake Panasoffkee. The recently completed Lake Panasoffkee restoration project is being hailed as a huge success by Lake Panasoffkee residents and anglers. The $26.9 million, ten-year project restored Lake Panasoffkee’s historic fish bedding areas and lake shoreline by removing…

Just northeast of the Lake Manatee Reservoir in Manatee County, undisturbed areas of native habitats provide an example of historic Florida palmetto prairie, pine flatwoods and scrubby flatwoods communities. The District’s Gilley Creek Tract, part of the Edward W. Chance Reserve, gives Manatee County residents an opportunity to see Florida the way it used to be. “We have a very good example of an old historic Florida ecosystem at the Gilley Creek property,” said…

Governor Rick Scott appointed Jim Murphy to the Southwest Florida Water Management District's Governing Board. Murphy represents Polk County. Murphy, 57, of Lakeland, is the division president of Florida Sealing Products, Inc. He attended The Ohio State University. Murphy is appointed for a term beginning July 28, 2017, and ending March 1, 2021.Governing Board members are unpaid, citizen volunteers who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Florida Senate. The…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will hold a virtual meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 27, to share the results of the 2020 Dover/Plant City Water Use Caution Area Assessment and staff recommendations. District staff will give a presentation followed by a chance for the public to give comments and ask questions. Members of the public may join the workshop via Microsoft Teams at…

Caver Studies Effects on Springs Beneath your feet exists a part of Florida few ever see but all should value. Deep below the earth’s surface, caverns have formed by water seeping into cracks and slowly dissolving the rock below. Over thousands of years, these voids become larger and create sinkholes and caves. That water can flow into disappearing streams, and underground rivers and then flow back up to the land surface as springs. Photo Courtesy Jason Polk…

The District’s Governing Board recognized Cheryl Paradis as one of this year’s springs community partners, while declaring April Springs Protection Awareness Month.  Paradis has served as the director and lead teacher at the Springs Coast Environmental Education Center on the Weeki Wachee River since 2008. Each year, she passionately educates approximately 8,000 Hernando County students, teachers and families about Weeki Wachee Springs and how to protect the…

An eagle scout, campground hosts and an equestrian group are among the volunteers honored Tuesday at the Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board meeting in Brooksville.The volunteers, who either take part in the District’s Land Resources Volunteer Program or the District’s Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) Program, received the President’s Volunteer Service Award, a national honor that recognizes volunteer dedication and…

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board(Governing Board)":/about/governingboard voted Tuesday to begin the rulemaking process to increase its share of costs for projects that reduce groundwater pumping for frost/freeze protection in the Dover/Plant City area.The increase will be part of the "District's(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ Facilitating Agricultural Resource Management Systems, or FARMS, Program. "FARMS (FARMS Program)":/…

A change to water management guidelines for the Tsala Apopka chain of lakes means that in excess of 23 million gallons of water per day has been flowing into the Tsala Apopka Lake since Feb. 2. The Floral City, Inverness and Hernando pools are now receiving equal shares of that Withlacoochee River water. The "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":http://watermatters.org changed water control guidelines to try to bring up…

Construction began this fall on projects at Lake Hancock that will result in improved flows and better water quality in the upper Peace River. Contractors began work Nov. 14 on the Lake Hancock Lake Level Modification Project, which will replace the P-11 Water Conservation Structure that was built in 1963. The new structure will allow the District to maintain higher lake levels, increasing the elevation from 98.7 feet above sea level to 100 feet. The additional stored…

Several hundred Pasco County residents joined the District at its first “Get Outside!” Day community event at Starkey Wilderness Preserve’s Serenova Tract. The event was an opportunity for the District to introduce the property to the surrounding community and encourage more frequent use of the land. More than 400 people attended the event — 74 percent of whom were first-time visitors. “It was a beautiful day and a great turnout by local residents to enjoy a…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) awarded $97,640.28 in grants to 43 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…

Governor Ron DeSantis has reappointed Joel Schleicher of Sarasota to the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s (District) Governing Board for a four-year term. Schleicher represents Charlotte and Sarasota counties.…

Don Kubiak, director of the botanical gardens, and Dick Keller, co-director, share a laugh with Fox 13’s Bill Murphy during the taping of a One Tank Trips segment featuring the Nature Coast Botanical Gardens. The District is celebrating an educational milestone with the 10th anniversary of the Community Education Grant Program, a program that motivates adults to get involved in projects that promote water resources protection. The grants are used for…

Governor Rick Scott reappointed five members of the "Southwest Florida Water Management District's Governing Board.":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/about/governingboard/ Jeffrey Adams, 56, of St. Petersburg, is an attorney with Abbey, Adams, Byelick, and Mueller LLP. He is reappointed for a term beginning June 12, 2015, and ending March 1, 2018. Elijah "Ed" Armstrong, 58, of Dunedin, is an attorney with Hill Ward Henderson. He is reappointed for a term beginning June 12, 2015…