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The Southwest Florida Water Management District honored six outstanding Polk 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 Polk County recipients are listed below. Portions of Polk County are represented by each of these District Basin Boards, Alafia River, Hillsborough River, and Peace River.Scott Nelson, a…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board Tuesday approved a modification to the water use permit (WUP) for Marion County Utilities.The modification to the existing water use permit increases quantities for public supply to an interconnected service area along State Road 200, Dunnellon Airport and JB Ranch. The new permit is for an annual average quantity of 3,774,000 gallons per day (gpd), which is an increase of 454,925 gpd or 13.7 percent.The…

Description: There is a place in the middle of the state, far from either coast, where people can go to experience the unaltered natural beauty of central Florida. The 51,000-acre East Tract of the Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve offers visitors the ability to hike, hunt, bike, camp or fish in a rare wilderness full of local flora and fauna. The Green Swamp East Tract, which stretches across Sumter, Lake, and Polk counties, contains a variety of habitat types —…

Marion County students at two schools will study the issues surrounding our freshwater resources thanks to "Splash! school grants":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/education/schoolgrants/ from the Southwest Florida Water Management District.The Marion County awardees are:* Thomas Allison, *Dunnellon Middle*, was awarded $2,390. Students will visit the Withlacoochee and Rainbow rivers to test water quality. Students will learn how human actions affect the flora and fauna on the…

A building at the "Southwest Florida Water Management District's(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ "Tampa Service Office(Google map)":http://maps.google.com/maps?oi=map&q=7601+US+301,+Tampa,+FL+33637, is the first water management district building to be certified under the "Florida Water StarSM(Florida Water Star)":/conservation/florida_water_star commercial standard. It's also only the second government building in the state to be certified.Building 2 on…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District honored four outstanding Manatee 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 Manatee County recipients are listed below. Manatee County is in the District’s Manasota Basin, which also includes Sarasota County.Gail Scout with the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary,…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is celebrating the signing of the 300th establishment to participate in the District’s award-winning Water Conservation Hotel And Motel Program (Water C.H.A.M.P.)The Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites on North Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa became the 300th establishment to come on board with Water C.H.A.M.P., the District’s linens and towels reuse program. By implementing the program, the hotel or motel management agrees to…

Won-Seok Kim, University of South Florida graduate student, second from left; Jeff Cunningham, USF assistant professor, third from left; and Anthony Andrade, District senior water conservation analyst, fourth from left, meet with the South Korean delegation at the USF Marshall Student Center. A delegation from the Environmental Research Institute of South Korea, the country’s equivalent of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, toured Pinellas County, Dunedin…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board voted today to modify the tightened turfgrass restrictions for Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties, which will allow builders to sod and residents to replace lawns under a specific set of conditions.District staff met with members of the sod industry last week to discuss solutions to the extreme water shortage in the Tampa Bay area as well as the serious economic conditions affecting the sod…

Hold Back The Rain     Gene Farley’s days are spent watching and listening for signs of trouble. Farley is the “structures guy,” otherwise known as the Structure Controls Supervisor, at the Southwest Florida Water Management District. Farley is the man who makes the decision when to open or close one of the 80 water conservation and flood control structures the District operates and maintains in the 16-county area of west-central Florida. While…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be treating water hyacinth and water lettuce on Shell and Prairie creeks upstream of the Henderson Dam during the week of November 16-20. 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…

Hotels and motels can celebrate National Tourism Week by signing up to participate in the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s successful water conservation program known as Water Conservation Hotel and Motel Program (Water C.H.A.M.P.)National Tourism Week is May 13 through May 20. According to VISIT FLORIDA, the states official tourism marketing organization, approximately 85.8 million people visited the state last year. That translates to more than $57…

A Southwest Florida Water Management District employee who has devoted his career to reclaimed water has received national recognition for his dedication.Anthony Andrade, a project manager and senior water conservation analyst, was named the “WateReuse Person of the Year” for 2006. The award was presented at the 2006 WateReuse Symposium, which was held jointly by the WateReuse Association, American Water Works Association and the Water Environment Federation (…

Hillsborough County students at 34 schools will study the issues surrounding our freshwater resources thanks to "Splash! school grants":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/education/schoolgrants/ from the Southwest Florida Water Management District.The Hillsborough County awardees are:* Christine Lindbak, *Alonso High*, was awarded $2,150. Students will learn about the Hillsborough River watershed and then conduct water quality tests while on a field trip to the Crystal Springs…

Nine Marion County teachers are among the educators who were awarded Splash! school grants through the "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/.This year 206 "Splash! grants(Splash! School Grants)":/education/schoolgrants were awarded to educators across "the District's 16-county region":/data/map.Mary Margaret Hull, lead communications coordinator, attributes the effectiveness of the grant program in Marion County to the…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District honored Susan Kelly, director of the Sumter County Extension, for her role in promoting water resources education through the Lake Panasoffkee Celebration. A total of 26 projects were recognized Wednesday during the “Partners in Watershed Education Conference” at the Crowne Plaza Tampa East Hotel.Through a 2007 Community Education Grant, the Sumter County Extension held this one-day community event that focused on…

More than 700 of the best and brightest minds in water reuse met in Tampa this September to take part in the 22nd Annual WateReuse Symposium, which focused on water reuse and desalination. This is the first time the WateReuse Association has held its annual event in the Tampa Bay area. The association is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to advance the beneficial and efficient use of water resources through education, sound science and technology using…

On Tuesday, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s (District) Governing Board adopted a $231.6 million budget for fiscal year (FY) 2025, including $86.6 million for Cooperative Funding Initiatives and District grants for water resources projects.The budget reflects the District’s commitment to protect Florida’s water resources and to improve Florida’s economic vitality. Some of the key initiatives in the District’s FY2025 budget include: 

• $76.5 million…

  In response to this year’s destructive freeze, the District is taking proactive measures to prepare for similar events in the future. From January 3–13, 2010, for the first time in recorded history, temperatures in eastern Hillsborough County dropped below 34 degrees for 11 consecutive days. As a result, area farmers pumped nearly one billion gallons of groundwater per night to protect their crops. This combined pumping dropped the aquifer level 60 feet,…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District recently recognized eight Pinellas County projects as outstanding school, community grant or volunteer programs that focus on water resources education. A total of 52 projects were recognized during the October 7 Reflect, Connect, Celebrate Water Resources Education Conference at the Brooker Creek Preserve Environmental Education Center in Tarpon Springs.To select the awardees, District staff reviewed grants applied for by…