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Gov. Rick Scott appointed George Mann to the Southwest Florida Water Management District's "Governing Board":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/about/governingboard/ Wednesday.Mann, of Polk City, is a retired business development manager at Treatt USA, which processes citrus products. Mann was appointed to succeed Neil Combee, and his term ends March 1, 2013.Mann is currently serving as a board member of Anchor House Ministry. Previously, he served on the Florida Citrus…

Gov. Charlie Crist recently appointed a new member to the Governing Board of the Southwest Florida Water Management District.Henry Paul Senft of Haines City was appointed to a newly created seat. The Governing Board was previously made up of 11 seats. Last year the State Legislature added two new seats for a total of 13.His term began March 7 and ends March 1, 2011. Senft is the owner of Townsend-Senft Consulting and Insurance Inc. He will also be appointed by the…

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ is inviting the public to comment on proposed "minimum flows and levels(Minimum Flows and Levels)":/mfl (MFLs) for the upper and middle Withlacoochee River at a public workshop on Wednesday, Nov. 3. The workshop will be held from 6:30 to approximately 9 p.m. at the "District's headquarters(Google map)":http://maps.google.com/maps?oi=map&q=2379+Broad+Street,+Brooksville,+FL+…

At today’s meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Northwest Hillsborough Basin Board adopted a fiscal year 2007 (FY2007) millage rate of 0.268 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year.The budget for FY2007 is $9,288,171, which is an increase of $180,006 from the adopted FY2006 budget. The main reason for this increase is due to increased property values offset by a reduction in state funding. FY2007 will run from Oct. 1, 2006, through Sept. 30…

Northwest Hillsborough Basin Board Sets Proposed Millage RateAt its June 8 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Northwest Hillsborough Basin Board adopted a proposed fiscal year 2007 (FY2007) millage rate of 0.268 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year.The proposed budget for FY2007 is $8,213,055, which is a decrease of $895,110 from the adopted FY2006 budget. The main reason for this decrease is a reduction in state funding. FY2007…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is seeking public input about proposed minimum and guidance levels for selected Pasco County lakes.A public workshop will be held to discuss proposed levels for King Lake, King Lake (East) and Lake Linda. The meeting will be held Wednesday, Nov. 14, 6:30 p.m. at the Land O’ Lakes Community Center, 5401 Land O’ Lakes Boulevard (U.S. Highway 41), Land O’ Lakes.A minimum flow or level (MFL) is the limit at which…

A study of the fish and invertebrates in the Weeki Wachee River estuary will help the Southwest Florida Water Management District in establishing minimum flows for the Weeki Wachee River.Aimed at determining the freshwater needs of biological communities associated with the river, the study is being conducted by the University of South Florida’s College of Marine Science.Researchers have been collecting fish and invertebrates, such as pink shrimp and blue crab, on a…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is seeking public input about proposed minimum and guidance levels for Citrus County lakes.A public workshop will be held to discuss proposed levels for Fort Cooper Lake and the Floral City, Hernando and Inverness pools of Tsala Apopka Lake in Citrus County. The meeting will be held Tuesday, Oct. 17, at the Citrus County Auditorium, 3610 South Florida Avenue (U.S. Highway 41), Inverness. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m.A…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is seeking public input about proposed minimum flows and levels (MFL) for Lake Panasoffkee in Sumter County.A minimum flow or level is the limit at which further water withdrawals will cause significant harm to the water resources and/or environment. The District Governing Board sets these limits as part of achieving a balance between meeting human water needs and those of Florida’s natural systems. Minimum lake levels…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) has scheduled restoration work on the Orange State Canal located in Citrus County. The work is scheduled to take place from May 16 to June 15. Boat access from the Withlacoochee River through the canal will not be available during the scheduled restoration work. Activity is scheduled to occur during daylight hours between Monday and Friday each week. Restoration work on the Orange State Canal will focus on…

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/ (District) deactivated the "Lower Hillsborough Flood Detention Area ":https://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/recreation/pdf/2005_Lower_Hillsborough_FDA_LU-Mgmt_Plan.pdf (LHFDA) today, reopening Structure S-155 and allowing boat traffic to resume along that portion of the Hillsborough River. High water levels caused by recent heavy rains have receded, allowing the Hillsborough River to return to its…

John Finnerty, president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity of East & Central Pasco, left; Ron Oakley, former District Governing Board chair, center; and Susan Douglas, District Florida Water StarSM (FWS) program coordinator, recently attended the groundbreaking of two Florida Water StarSM homes in Lacoochee. Habitat volunteers built the Lacoochee houses during National Women Build Week in May. These are the first two Habitat homes in Pasco County to be…

At its July 25 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Manasota Basin Board adopted a fiscal year 2008 (FY2008) millage rate of 0.1484 mill, which is .0116 less than the current fiscal year. This reduction is in accordance with the tax reduction mandated by the Florida Legislature.The FY2008 millage rate has been set equal to 97 percent of the rolled-back rate in compliance with House Bill 1B, the tax reform legislation signed into law by Gov.…

At its June 6 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Coastal Rivers Basin Board adopted a proposed fiscal year 2007 (FY2007) millage rate of 0.205 mill, which is .03 mill below the FY2006 rate of .235 mill. This reduction was based on the estimated increase in property values for FY2007.FY2007 will run from Oct. 1, 2006, through Sept. 30, 2007.The Coastal Rivers Basin Board covers portions of Citrus, Hernando and Pasco counties. For the owner of a…

Beltran Appointed New Assistant Executive Director Assistant Executive Director Robert Beltran Robert Beltran recently joined the District as the new assistant executive director. Beltran will report to Executive Director Blake Guillory and oversee the District’s Regulation, Resource Management, and Operations, Maintenance & Construction divisions. Beltran is a professional engineer and has worked for 16 years as a…

District information will soon be just a simple “point and click” away with its newest innovation, the Water Management Information System, or WMIS. WMIS will centralize information from the District’s well construction permitting, resource data, water use permitting and environmental resource permitting databases, making it easily accessible for both the staff and the public. Upon completion, WMIS will increase the amount of information online, facilitate online…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District has recently signed agreements with Hernando County to develop comprehensive watershed management plans for several watersheds within the county.The plans will be used to determine feasible drainage alternatives that may be constructed to enhance and restore water quality and natural systems, or for flood relief. The plan will also assist local governments with their land management responsibilities and further the goals.Plans…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is inviting the public to comment on proposed minimum flows and levels (MFLs) for Gum Slough Spring Run and associated springs in northwestern Sumter County and southwestern Marion County at a public meeting on Wednesday, April 4.The rule development public workshop will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Marion Oaks Community Center, 294 Marion Oaks Lane, Ocala.The state Legislature requires the District to set minimum flows and…

The biannual employee meetings, held at each of the District service offices, are a good place to go and receive the latest information about what’s going on at the water management district.  Answering questions from District staff during the February employee meeting are Elaine Kuligofski, human resources director, and David Moore, executive director. During the meeting, staff were briefed about a variety of pending matters, such as the Tampa Bay Water…

For the seventh year in a row, the Southwest Florida Water Management District's (District) Governing Board voted to decrease property taxes by adopting a rolled back millage rate of 0.3131 mill for the fiscal year 2018 budget. The millage rate is more than 5.6 percent lower than the current fiscal year adopted millage rate of 0.3317 mill, a savings to taxpayers of $6.7 million.For the owner of a $150,000 home with a $50,000 homestead exemption, the District tax would be $31…