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The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) awarded $108,937 in grants to 51 educators within the District as part of the Splash! school grant program. The program provides up to $3,000 per school to enhance student knowledge of freshwater resources in grades K-12.Splash! grants encourage hands-on student learning through STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) activities as well as engagement of the greater school community through awareness… Read more

Residents have just a few weeks left to enter their water-wise yard in Tampa Bay Water’s annual Water-Wise Awards. If you live in Pasco, Pinellas or Hillsborough counties or the cities of New Port Richey, St. Petersburg or Tampa, you are eligible to enter the contest. The Community Water-Wise Awards program recognizes individuals and businesses that are committed to conserving water resources and protecting the environment by using the best in attractive, Florida-… Read more

On Wednesday, the Legislative Budget Commission approved the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP) proposed $69 million in springs projects leveraged by the $30 million Governor Scott secured in the "It's Your Money Tax Cut Budget" to bring the total invested in springs projects to more than $100 million in the last two years. Four springs in the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will see the benefit of this project plan, including… Read more

Charlotte County Utilities residential customers are now eligible to participate in a toilet rebate program aimed at conserving water.The toilet rebate program, which is cooperatively funded by the county and the Southwest Florida Water Management District's Peace River Basin Board, 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 while high-efficiency toilets… Read more

A project funded by the Southwest Florida Water Management District and the Englewood Water District will bring reclaimed water to the 73 homes in Englewoods Park Forest subdivision.The project includes the design and construction of more than 3,800 linear feet of reclaimed water transmission lines.This project is expected to provide approximately 43,800 gallons per day (gpd) of reclaimed water to meet the current demands of the residential customers, which will offset… Read more

A cooperatively funded program between the Southwest Florida Water Management District and the City of North Port will identify what is causing degraded water quality in the region. The information gathered by the program will be used to develop a water quality improvement plan.The North Port Water Enhancement Program consists of a study that includes water sampling, data collection and analysis.During the course of a year, monthly water samples will be taken from… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District and Pasco County recently signed an agreement to work together on a project that will maximize the use of reclaimed water resources in the county.The Pasco County Wet Weather Reclaimed Water Reservoir project involves constructing a reservoir on 35 acres next to the Land O’ Lakes wastewater treatment facility. The reservoir will be built to store up to 100 million gallons of reclaimed water from the facility.Reclaimed… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District and the City of Inverness recently signed an agreement for a project that will save 700,000 gallons of water per day (gpd).This project will allow the Inverness Golf and Country Club to reduce its dependence on potable water sources for irrigation at its golf course and give the city the ability to provide reclaimed water, through existing piping, to the Citrus County Holden Park athletic fields to reduce its use of groundwater… Read more

The public is invited to an open house Thursday, June 28 for a plan to address the current and long-term water supply needs in the central Florida region.A regional water supply plan is being developed by the Central Florida Water Initiative, a collaboration of agencies to address water issues in southern Lake, Orange, Osceola, Polk and Seminole counties. The "Southwest Florida Water Management District":http://www.watermatters.org is part of the initiative, which is focused… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District today approved an important plan to coordinate efforts with two other water management districts to meet the growing water supply needs of a five-county region in Central Florida while also protecting the water and related natural resources.The Action Plan for the Central Florida Coordination Area is a cooperative effort among the Southwest Florida, South Florida and St. Johns River water management districts. The Coordination… Read more

Portions of Citrus County received more than 10 inches of rain in the last four days, including more than six inches Monday night. This prompted District staff to raise the gates of the Inglis Main Dam to increase flows out of Lake Rousseau. Citrus County has nearly reached its historical average rainfall of 30.8 inches for the entire wet season (June through September) having received an average of 30 inches of rain the past two months. District staff have been… Read more

A reclaimed water project funded by the Southwest Florida Water Management District and the City of Winter Haven will expand reclaimed water service in the northern service area, offsetting about 454,000 gallons of potable water per day.The project will connect several developments, including Hampton Cove, Lakes at Lucerne Park, Sunset Hills, Royal Hills, and Lake Henry Isles, to the reclaimed water system. As a result, reclaimed water will be available to approximately 2,… Read more

Left: Rob Goding, Wal-Mart regional market manager; Shelley Bailey, Palm Harbor Wal-Mart store manager; Robert B. Stewart, Pinellas County commissioner; Liz Warren, Pinellas County assistant county administrator; Steve Spratt, Pinellas County administrator; Sallie Parks and Todd Pressman, co-chairs ex officio of the Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board; and Will Davis, Pinellas County Department of Environmental Management director, participated in the grand opening of the… Read more

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District":http://www.watermatters.org continues to maintain its commitment to provide key services to the agricultural community despite organization changes and staff reductions. The economic downturn, reduced property values and other constraints have led to significant budget cuts, staff reductions and re-evaluation of priorities at the District in 2012.Facing new budget realities, the District's Governing Board directed staff to… Read more

A project funded by the Southwest Florida Water Management District and the Bay Laurel Center Community Development District will bring reclaimed water to residents who live in the Marion County communities of Candler Hills and On Top of the World.The project includes the design, permitting and construction of a reclaimed water storage and transmission system, which will involve constructing a 2.5 million gallon ground storage tank, 3,500 linear feet of reclaimed water… Read more

The City of Clearwater recently celebrated the grand opening of its second reverse-osmosis water treatment plant.  District staff joined the celebration of the plant that treats brackish water using state-of-the-art technology to produce more than 5 million gallons per day of potable water. Reverse osmosis is a process that purifies water by removing dissolved particles, minerals and ions.  This $34 million project includes three major components: the… Read more

Educators interested in securing grant funding for classroom projects that focus on water quality, natural systems, water conservation, alternative water sources, flood protection or watersheds are encouraged to apply for a Splash! mini-grant through the Southwest Florida Water Management District.The goal of the mini-grant program is to promote hands-on water resources education that teaches students about their local watersheds and the water resources within them. Splash… Read more

District staff, members of the academic community, elected officials, the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs and other members of the community joined together in Tampa during March to share ideas about water supply and alternative supply sources. The Water Rally featured informative presentations, an interactive panel, and a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Wes Skiles’ video. Heidi McCree, Governing Board chair, provided opening comments while David Moore,… Read more

Tampa residents have new living options that offer water efficiency and affordability.District leaders celebrated Earth Day last week by awarding Florida Water Star℠ Community certification to the latest apartment building in the Encore!, a mixed-used redevelopment complex in downtown Tampa. The Reed is the third building in… Read more

A Clearwater reclaimed water project is receiving continued support from the Southwest Florida Water Management District.The Clearwater Morningside Reclaimed Water Transmission and Distribution project consists of the design and construction of reclaimed water transmission lines and distribution lines.The project will supply reclaimed water to the Morningside service area, which includes approximately 760 residential homes, eight commercial customers and the Morningside… Read more