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The "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ is offering six easy ways to prepare for your holiday meals and parties without running up your water bill."It is especially important to conserve water during the holidays, as they fall within our traditional dry season," said Robyn Felix, the District's media relations manager. "We can all make a difference by incorporating a few simple tips into our routines."During the…

Proving you don’t have to give up luxury for efficiency, Marc Rutenberg Homes recently earned the Florida Water Star residential certification for its Castaway III model home in Palm Harbor. The Florida Water Star certification is given to residential and commercial buildings that meet certain criteria for water   efficiency. The Castaway III is a 4,552-square-foot model home that boasts a Florida-Friendly landscape where 90 percent of the plants are…

This project restored habitat, including critical manatee habitat, and increased safety for visitors. Project Overview  The District restored the shoreline around Three Sisters Springs to repair the eroded shoreline and prevent future erosion. These improvements benefit the Crystal River/Kings Bay spring system by restoring habitat, including critical manatee habitat and increasing safety for visitors.  Background The shoreline surrounding the…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District honored three outstanding Pinellas County projects that focused on water resources education. A total of 27 projects were recognized during the “Partners in Watershed Education Conference” at the Lake Mirror Complex in Lakeland.The Pinellas County recipients are listed below. Pinellas County is in the Pinellas-Anclote River Basin, which also includes a portion of Pasco County.Dale Armstrong and Wilma Holley were…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District honored two Citrus County projects at the “Partners in Watershed Education Conference” at the Crowne Plaza Tampa East Hotel. A total of 26 projects were recognized Wednesday during the event.

• Jennifer Jabo and Marie Bienkowski, Forest Ridge Elementary School teachers, were recognized for their hands-on water conservation education program. This 2007–2008 Splash! mini-grant project helped students…

Nearly 400 board members and property managers of community, condominium and homeowners associations attended recent workshops to learn more about a new water conservation law signed by Gov. Charlie Crist last summer. The District partnered with the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) to facilitate seven workshops in six counties to provide information about the new law and Florida-friendly landscaping. Known as Senate Bill 2080…

As the school year comes to a close, so does another successful season of the District’s Splash! school grant program. This year the District awarded 65 Splash! grants to K-12 educators to help enhance and support water education activities. In total the grants engaged more than 20,000 students and adults. For many educators, the Splash! grant program enables them to give students hands-on experiences that otherwise would not occur. This may include a field study at…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s (District) Hampton Tract, including closed area tracts at Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve in Polk County, will be temporarily closed to the public for feral hog hunts March 18-20.Only permitted hunters will be allowed on the property during these dates. All 30 permits for these hunts have been sold.The Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve Hampton Tract is located at 14301 Rock Ridge Road in Lakeland.This activity is one of a…

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District (Southwest Florida Water Management District)":http://watermatters.org will be treating "water lettuce(Invasive Plants)":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/projects/aquaticplants/ on the Rainbow River during the week of January 11.District workers will treat the Rainbow River from the headspring to the Withlacoochee River. Workers will apply the aquatic herbicide Reward to scattered infestations, and post warning signs in the…

Where do you think most of the water pollutants in our region come from? Did you know that about half of them come from septic tanks? That’s according to Dr. Mary Lusk, faculty in the Soil and Water Science Department at the University of Florida-Gulf Coast Research and Education Center. She spoke at this year’s “Florida Water: Decade for Decisions” seminar and said conventional septic tanks do not remove much nitrogen (about 30 percent) and are greatly contributing to…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) is offering six easy ways to prepare for your holiday meals and parties without running up your water bill. During the holidays, water plays a role in everything from food preparation to the cleanup process. Here’s how to incorporate water conservation into your holiday preparations:  

• Defrost frozen foods in the refrigerator or the microwave instead of running hot water over them.…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District honored Chris Dewey for his work as the Florida Yards & Neighborhoods Builders/Developers Outreach coordinator in Pasco County at a ceremony that recognized outstanding water resources education programs and projects. A total of 27 projects were recognized during the “Partners in Watershed Education Conference” at the Lake Mirror Complex in Lakeland.Dewey has created a unique and beneficial working…

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/ (District) will observe May 19-25 as Water Reuse Week. Governor Rick Scott proclaimed Florida Water Reuse Week to highlight the importance of water reuse to the sustainability of Florida's water supply and overall ecosystem. Water reuse is essential to ensuring safe, clean and sustainable water resources. As part of the District's efforts to highlight water reuse awareness throughout our 16-…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District, St. Johns River Water Management District and South Florida Water Management District have scheduled a virtual joint public meeting at 10 a.m. on Friday, September 1, to solicit stakeholder input on each District’s annual update of their priority list and schedule for the establishment of minimum flows and water levels as well as water reservations.Participants can join the virtual meeting at…

Fixing leaks and installing a few inexpensive water-saving devices in your home could save up to 20,000 gallons of water each year. Unless your home was built after 1995, you probably have pre-conservation era plumbing that guzzles water. Fixing leaks and replacing old plumbing fixtures with water-saving models are two easy ways to conserve water and save money at the same time. In addition, you pay to pipe water into your home and pay to pipe it out unless you…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) is offering six easy ways to prepare for your holiday meals and parties without running up your water bill. During the holidays, water plays a role in everything from food preparation to the cleanup process. Here’s how to incorporate water conservation into your holiday preparations:

• Defrost frozen foods in the refrigerator or the microwave instead of running hot water over them.
• …

A Tampa Bay area developer is the first to sign on with the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s new, comprehensive water conservation program for new home construction, Florida Water Star (FWSG).FWSG is a voluntary certification program for builders. It encourages water efficiency in household appliances, plumbing fixtures, irrigation systems and landscapes, as well as water quality benefits from best management practices in landscapes.Carl Krave, president…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be treating water hyacinth and water lettuce on the section of the Braden River south of Highway 70 during the week of October 26-30.Treatment involves the spot application of the aquatic herbicide Reward to scattered infestations. Treatment areas will be posted with warning signs displaying treatment dates and applicable water use restrictions. Treated river water should not be used for drinking, watering livestock or…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be treating water hyacinth and water lettuce on the section of the Peace River between Ft. Meade and Bowling Green during the week of Aug. 3-7.Treatment involves the spot application of the aquatic herbicide Reward to scattered infestations. Treatment areas will be posted with warning signs displaying treatment dates and applicable water use restrictions. Treated river water should not be used for drinking, watering…

 Project OverviewAs part of the community effort to restore Kings Bay, the Southwest Florida Water Management District conducted a pilot project to restore eelgrass in Hunters Cove, a 10-acre area surrounding Hunter Springs. Eelgrass, once abundant in Kings Bay, is a native aquatic plant critical to improving water quality and sustaining beneficial fish and wildlife habitat.BackgroundA characteristic of most Florida springs is dense submerged aquatic…