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The Southwest Florida Water Management District is extending a water shortage emergency authorization that allows Tampa Bay Water to withdraw additional water from the Alafia River to continue to fill the C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir.As of Sept. 15, the reservoir had about 11.2 billion gallons in storage. When full, the reservoir stores approximately 15 billion gallons of water.The executive order, which was scheduled to expire Sept. 30, has been extended through Dec… Read more

The District does not control a dam on Lake Jovita in Pasco County and is not releasing water from Lake Jovita. Heavy rainfall from Hurricane Milton has caused extreme flooding in the region, but it is not related to the release of any water from the lake by the District. Please disregard misinformation being circulated on social media and share this post with your community so we can ensure accurate information is being shared. Media reports about the release of water are… Read more

Southwest Florida Water Management District Executive Director David Moore signed a water shortage emergency order (order 08-043 ) Thursday that will allow Tampa Bay Water to withdraw additional water from the Tampa Bypass Canal to help the City of Tampa meet its demand for potable water.Tampa relies primarily on its Hillsborough River Reservoir to meet the water needs of 656,000 residents. As of Oct. 14,… Read more

At the water management conference Eric Draper, policy director for Audubon of Florida; Sen. Paula Dockery (R-Lakeland); Jerry G. Hill, Authority chair and DeSoto County Commissioner; and David L. Moore, District executive director, together. During the Annual Conference on Water Management in September, Audubon of Florida presented the Peace River/Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority (Authority) with a special award for using alternative water supply… Read more

Southwest Florida Water Management District Executive Director David Moore modified a water shortage emergency order Wednesday that allows Tampa Bay Water to withdraw additional water from the Tampa Bypass Canal to help the City of Tampa meet its demand for potable water.The modified executive order, which is in effect until… Read more

Dollars and Cents     In the development of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2004 budget, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing and Basin Boards took many factors into account. “The budget reflects the District’s goal of providing cost-effective quality services while protecting and enhancing the public’s water resources,” said Tom Dabney, Governing Board Chair. Millage rates in the District did not increase this year. In fact, this… Read more

Emergency Operations Center at Level 2 activationSouthwest Florida Water Management District (District) officials are monitoring Hurricane Milton and have raised the activation level of the District’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to Level 2. The EOC provides direction regarding District activities before, during and after an emergency weather event.Hurricane Milton has the potential to bring significant rainfall to our area throughout the District’s 16-county… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) is closing navigation on the Hillsborough River at Structure S-155 to meet Federal safety standards.Due to the high velocity of water from Tropical Storm Debby, boat barriers will be put in place where I-75 crosses the Hillsborough River, restricting navigation in that area. The S-155 structure is part of the Tampa Bypass Canal System and located north of Morris Bridge Road and east of I-75. It can be seen from I-75… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Wednesday extendedthe water shortage emergency order that allows Tampa Bay Water to withdraw additional water from the Alafia River to store in the C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir. This is the second time the District has extended this emergency order, which is necessary to protect public health, safety and welfare. Drought… Read more

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

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) has deactivated the Tampa Bypass Canal System and the Hillsborough Flood Detention Area (HFDA) as water levels in the Hillsborough River have declined following Tropical Storm Debby.The District opened Structure S-155 over the weekend and the boat barriers are being removed today, restoring navigation on the Hillsborough River. The S-155 structure is located north of Morris Bridge Road and east of I-75 and can… 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

Emergency Operations Center at Level 2 activationSouthwest Florida Water Management District (District) officials are monitoring Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine and raised the activation level of the District’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to Level 2 at 8 a.m. this morning. The EOC provides direction regarding District activities before, during and after an emergency weather event.Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine has the potential to bring significant rainfall… 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

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

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