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The Southwest Florida Water Management District's Governing Board Tuesday approved an agreement with Polk County as part of a plan to protect and preserve thousands of acres of environmentally sensitive land.The District and the county have agreed to jointly acquire the parcel, which is approximately 3,509 acres, for $7.369 million. Polk County will provide $2 million while the District will provide $5.369 million. Funds for the District's portion of the purchase are…

Nine Citrus County teachers are among the record number of educators who applied for and received Splash! mini-grants through the Southwest Florida Water Management District.This year the District awarded Splash! mini-grants to 209 educators totaling more than $413,000. That’s 72 more grant recipients than last year.Mary Margaret Hull, lead communications coordinator, attributes the increase in awardees to an increase in promotion among the District’s school…

The District is nearing completion of its effort to upgrade the datum, or starting point, used to record water level elevation. The upgrade will improve accuracy of water elevation, which is measured in feet above the mean sea level.Staff are projected to finish the upgrade by completing the southern regions of the District in 2016.  The datum is being upgraded from the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD 29) to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is offering Community Education Grants to members of the community who want to make a positive impact on the water resources in their area.The goal of the District’s Community Education Grant Program is to actively engage adults in water-related issues pertaining to conservation, protection and preservation. Funded by the District’s Basin Boards, the program is intended to motivate communities to get involved in…

Students and teachers from Twin Lakes Elementary in Tampa were honored today with a Water Stewardship Award from the Southwest Florida Water Management’s Hillsborough River Basin Board.The board chose the Twin Lakes Elementary “Water Everywhere, Put It First, Make It Last” project to receive the Water Stewardship Award because of the student involvement. The school used a District grant to educate and engage students in water resources by planting a…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board Tuesday renewed a water use permit (WUP) for Rolling Oaks Utilities in Citrus County.The annual average permitted quantity is 2.5 million gallons of water per day.The utility provides potable water to the Beverly Hills service area, which is approximately six miles east of Crystal River.The permit requires the city to investigate the feasibility of using reclaimed water or other alternative water supply sources…

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District":http://www.watermatters.org and Manatee County are giving residents a chance to learn about local water resource issues and how to make a difference during the Manatee County Extension Water School.The District believes citizens need to become actively engaged in water-related issues including conservation, protection and preservation. The school motivates communities to get involved in protecting their water resources. The…

Sixteen Pasco County teachers are among the record number of educators who applied for and received Splash! mini-grants through the Southwest Florida Water Management District.This year the District awarded Splash! mini-grants to 209 educators totaling more than $413,000. That’s 72 more grant recipients than last year.Mary Margaret Hull, lead communication coordinator, attributes the increase in awardees to an increase in promotion among the District’s school…

Citrus 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 Citrus County awardees are:* Marla Gangler, *Hernando Elementary*, was awarded $1,141. Students will study the effects of pollution on the aquifer by collecting and analyzing water samples.* Zachary Leonard, *Citrus Springs Middle*, was…

Students at Sumter Alternative School will learn about freshwater habitats in Florida thanks to a "Splash! school grant":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/education/schoolgrants/ from the Southwest Florida Water Management District.The goal of the Splash! school grant program is to provide teachers with funding to enhance student knowledge of topics that meet the District's core mission and teach students about their local watersheds, water conservation, quality and supply.…

Sarasota County students at eight 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 Sarasota County awardees are:* Celestine Campbell, *Emma E. Booker Elementary*, was awarded $1,070. On a field trip to Emerson Point Preserve, students will learn about the habitats and wildlife adaptations of an estuary. They will…

City of Lakeland Water Utilities customers are still eligible to participate in a toilet rebate program aimed at conserving water.The toilet rebate program, which is cooperatively funded by the city and the Southwest Florida Water Management District's Alafia River, Peace River and Hillsborough River Basin Boards, offers rebates to replace high-volume toilets with water-efficient, low-flow toilets or high-efficiency toilets. Low-flow toilets use 1.6 gallons per flush or less…

Left: Philip Rhinesmith, District senior environmental scientist, demonstrates animal track plaster casting techniques to a group of students. Center: Students examine and identify macroinvertebrates in a water sample at the water quality station. Right: The soil sampling station was popular among many of the students on the field trip. Seventh-grade science students from Wildwood Middle High School recently stepped outside the classroom to collect and…

Pasco County students at six 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 Pasco County awardees are:* Donna Hoaque Koljeski, *Energy and Marine Center*, was awarded $2,700. Students will learn what a watershed is and how humans contribute to pollution entering a watershed. Through literature and hands-on…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be performing tests and possible maintenance on its P-5 water control structure during the next ten days. The structure is the outfall for Lake Henry, which discharges into Lake Hamilton in Polk County.A routine inspection showed some seepage, indicating the structure may require some repairs. Upcoming tests will determine if any part of the structure needs to be repaired or replaced.“These testing procedures will help…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board Tuesday renewed and modified a water use permit (WUP) for the City of Wauchula, which is located in Hardee County.The modified permit increases the permitted quantities. The previous annual average permitted quantity was 1,110,000 gallons of water per day (gpd.) The new permitted quantity is 1,236,500 gpd, which is an increase of 126,500 gpd.The increase in quantity is based on an estimated increase in…

!{SITE_ROOT}image/type/MaxWidth/max/300/id/909/!Region moves from critical to extreme water shortageThe Southwest Florida Water Management District's Governing Board voted to reduce the water restrictions in the Tampa Bay Water service area from Modified Phase IV (or Critical) toModified Phase III (or Extreme) for potable water use.The…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District celebrated the one year anniversary of the Water Program for Restaurant Outreach (Water PRO) by signing its 200th restaurant.Water PRO, which was launched last May, is a free program that helps restaurants conserve water by educating staff and customers. As part of the program, the restaurant management agrees to only serve water upon request, display water conservation materials on tables, conduct self-audits and train staff.…

Students at Cedar Key School in Levy County will learn about water quality thanks to a "Splash! school grant":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/education/schoolgrants/ from the Southwest Florida Water Management District.The goal of the Splash! school grant program is to provide teachers with funding to enhance student knowledge of topics that meet the District's core mission and teach students about their local watersheds, water conservation, quality and supply. Splash! school…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board Tuesday renewed and modified a water use permit (WUP) for Bartow.The modified permit increases the permitted quantities for the city. The previous annual average permitted quantity was 4,445,800 gallons of water per day (gpd.) The new permitted quantity is 7,900,000 gpd, which is an increase of 3,454,200 gpd.The quantity was increased to meet current and future water demands for the residential and commercial…