Search Content

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board recently adopted policies to ensure that District funding is spent on water supply projects that are consistent with regional water supply goals and provide relief to stressed groundwater sources.In two separate decisions, the Governing Board detailed District funding requirements for water supply projects within Water Supply Authority service areas and reaffirmed that it will not fund the construction of… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District issued a water shortage emergency order Tuesday that allows Tampa Bay Water to withdraw additional water from the Alafia River to store in the C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir in anticipation of the upcoming dry season.As of July 22, the reservoir had only about 4.24 billion gallons in storage.When full, the reservoir stores approximately 15 billion gallons of water.The executive order, which is in effect through Sept. 30,… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District extended two water shortage emergency orders that allow Tampa Bay Water to withdraw additional water from the Alafia River and the Tampa Bypass Canal to store in the C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir. Drought conditions have caused an acute water shortage within the region so emergency actions are necessary to protect public health, safety and welfare.Tampa Bay Water, the region’s wholesale water supplier, stores water in the… Read more

Southwest Florida Water Management District Executive Director David L. Moore Wednesday issued emergency orders for Punta Gorda and North Port related to Hurricane Charley impacts.The emergency order for Punta Gorda allows the city’s water utility system to use as much water as is necessary to maintain system pressure and complete the required line flushing, chlorine residuals testing, and bacteriological sampling in order to open the water service distribution system… Read more

Emergency Operations Center at Level 1 ActivationSouthwest Florida Water Management District (District) officials have raised the activation level of the District’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to Level 1 as they continue to monitor Tropical Storm Helene. The EOC provides direction regarding District activities during an emergency weather event. The District is evaluating potential impacts from the storm that could occur throughout its 16-county region.… Read more

Representatives from the District and Tampa Bay Water celebrate the beginning of full operations at the Tampa Bay Water desalination plant. Susan Latvala, Pinellas County commissioner and Tampa Bay Water chair, thanked Judy Whitehead (right), Governing Board chair, for the financial support the District contributed to the desalination plant. Representatives from the District joined Tampa Bay Water, American Water, Acciona Agua and Tampa Electric at a ribbon-… Read more

Polk County's Local Governments No Longer Need to Go It Alone Guest Editorial How to meet the water needs of a growing region when your main water source is reaching its limits? That's the challenge facing Polk County. Developing new water supplies is costly and can be especially difficult for smaller communities. It makes sense for the various local governments in the county to work together, share the cost and ensure a water supply for future… Read more

Pinellas Heights Senior Apartments contains the 1,000th property certified Florida Water Star℠ by the District.  The 153-unit senior living community in Largo pushes the exact count to 1,048 certifications and is the first Florida Water Star community in Pinellas County. That means the entire complex met the requirements of the certification program by installing water-efficient fixtures, appliances and landscaping.  Florida Water Star is a voluntary… Read more

More water is flowing in DeSoto County thanks to the completion of a $3.6 million pipeline. The five-mile pipeline, known as the DeSoto County Regional Transmission System (RTS) Extension, connects the county to the Peace River/ Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority’s water treatment facility. This pipeline is part of a larger alternative water supply project that will allow for growth, while preserving groundwater supplies for existing agricultural users. The… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board Tuesday approved a modification of a water use permit that will allow the City of Davenport to construct a third well.The permitted quantity of approximately 1 million gallons of water per day will remain unchanged. Under the modified permit, the third well will be constructed at a new water treatment facility.This permit will supply water primarily for single and multi-family residential, landscape irrigation,… Read more

State and local leaders will come together Sept. 7-9 to discuss water issues related to the states plans for growth at the 30th Annual Conference on Water Management in Sanibel.The conference is being held at the Sanibel Harbour Resort during which water management officials will reflect on Florida’s water history, explore how technology is benefiting water management, showcase restoration projects and address water supply issues.The Southwest Florida Water Management… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board Tuesday approved a temporary water use permit that will allow Polk County’s Northeast Regional Utility Service Area (NERUSA) to pump more water.The temporary permit allows the county to increase its permitted Annual Average Daily quantities from 6,054,600 gallons per day (gpd) to 6,304,600 gpd.The county requested a temporary permit while the permit renewal application is being evaluated. The county… Read more

The Central Florida Water Initiative (CFWI) will be holding an interactive webinar about regional water supply planning in central Florida Thursday, Aug. 29 at 1:30 p.m. This District is working collaboratively with the St. Johns River and South Florida water management districts as well as the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and regional utilities to address short- and long-term water supply needs in… Read more

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District's Governing Board ":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/about/governingboard/has appointed Robert Beltran to serve as the District's executive director. Beltran replaces Blake Guillory who was recently hired as the executive director for the South Florida Water Management District."The Board is confident in Robert's abilities to lead this organization as we continue to focus on our core mission of managing water and related natural… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board today approved a project that could replenish the Floridan aquifer by up to two to three million gallons of water per day (mgd).The project involves the development of an alternative water supply at CF Industry’s South Pasture mine, located in Hardee County. The plan is to capture excess surface water and storm water at the mine and route it through a constructed wetlands treatment area, and then to a sand… Read more

The "Central Florida Water Initiative's":http://cfwiwater.com/ (CFWI) Steering Committee has released two updated draft documents that will set a path forward for meeting water supply needs in central Florida for the next 20 years.During several public meetings over the summer, the public was invited to learn about and comment on the draft 2035 Water Resources Protection and Water Supply Strategies Plan (Solutions Plan) and minor changes to the draft 2015 Regional Water… Read more

Water Management on the Move A cooperative project between Pinellas County and the District has restored the natural flow of water between two back bays at Fort DeSoto Park near the mouth of Tampa Bay. Restoring the circulation will help improve water quality and habitats in the estuary. When the park was being developed during the late 1950s and early 1960s, a dredge-and-fill project connected a series of small mangrove islands from the mainland to a barrier… Read more

Who:Southwest Florida Water Management District staffWhat: The District is installing a pump and pipes at the Morris Bridge Sink. The pump system will allow the District to test to see if it is feasible to pump water from the sink to augment the Hillsborough River. In addition, the water pumped from the sink will be made available to Tampa Bay Water as a water supply source.When: Friday, April 3, 10 a.m.Where: Morris Bridge Sink, just east of I-75 and the Tampa Bypass… Read more

At its August 3 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board adopted a fiscal year 2006 (FY2006) millage rate of 0.400 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year.The budget for FY2006 is $38,655,311, which is an increase of $6,614,869 from the approved FY2005 budget. The increase in the budget is primarily due to ad valorem tax revenue from increased property values and revenue from the state’s newly created Water… Read more

  H. Paul Senft Jr., Governing Board Chair This edition of WaterMatters Magazine celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Southwest Florida Water Management District. Created in 1961 through legislative action to serve as the local sponsor for a series of federal flood control projects, the District’s responsibilities have grown dramatically over time. Recognizing that our water resources — our coasts, rivers,… Read more