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The Town of Lake Placid will receive a $4,332 grant from the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s 2007 Community Education Grant Program.As part of the project, approximately 20,000 Lake Placid residents will be sent packages containing information about watersheds, an identification sheet for nonnative, invasive plants and an invitation to attend a local Earth Day event. Recipients will learn how their behavior impacts the watershed and how to identify… Read more

The John Chestnut Senior Park in Tarpon Springs is about to undergo a little “spring cleaning.”The Pinellas County Parks & Recreation Department received a $4,083 grant from the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s 2006 Community Education Grant Program to help fund their “Perk Up A Park/Save a Day for the Bay” project on May 13. The grant funding comes from the District’s Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board, which includes… Read more

A new way to learn about Sarasota County’s watersheds will be unveiled during this year’s Watershed Awareness Week, Oct. 12-18.The Science and Environment Council of Sarasota County (SEC) has developed a Watershed Mobile Phone Audio Tour that can easily be accessed from any cell phone by calling 941-926-6813. The tour features 15 different watershed education messages, which coincide with locations people can visit.The Southwest Florida Water Management District… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board today approved a water use permit that will authorize the City of Lakeland to withdraw up to 30.2 million gallons of ground water per day (mgd) based on an administrative law judge’s recommended order.The city requested an administrative hearing after its application for a 10-year water use permit with total withdrawals of 36.8 mgd, with 8.77 from its Northeast well field, was modified by the District. The… Read more

Blog note: Projects and Partners is a WaterMatters Blog series that highlights various innovative projects of the District and its partners to benefit the community. District leaders recently helped celebrate the groundbreaking of the Crystal River to Duke Energy Reclaimed Water Project. It will provide highly treated wastewater, known as reclaimed water, from the City of Crystal River to the Duke Energy power plant facility in Citrus County.… Read more

Teachers interested in securing a "Splash! school grant(Splash! School Grants)":/education/schoolgrants/ for hands-on water resources projects through the "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us can begin applying online. The application is available on the District's web site at www.WaterMatters.org/schoolgrants/. Grant applications are due Sept. 10, 2010.The District's Splash! grants provide… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is seeking public input as it updates its long-range Water Management Plan.The District’s Water Management Plan addresses the District’s water supply, flood protection, water quality and natural systems goals and responsibilities. The current plan, developed in 2000, is being updated and will be provided to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection by May. The update will focus on key resource management… 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 a cooperatively funded program 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-… Read more

*District to begin habitat improvement activities*The Morris Bridge Bicycle Area's off-road trails and parking lot will be closed intermittently from mid-December through mid-January, except for weekends and holidays. The Morris Bridge Bicycle Area is part of the Southwest Florida Water Management District's Lower Hillsborough Wilderness Preserve, located just south of Morris Bridge Road and just east of I-75 near Temple Terrace. The property is managed by the District in… Read more

As more people focus on their lawns and landscaping this time of year, the "Southwest Florida Water Management District":http://www.watermatters.org promotes "Florida-friendly fertilizing":http://WaterMatters.org/fertilizing practices.Florida-friendly fertilizing is an annual campaign encouraging residents to responsibly maintain their lawns.Recent studies have shown rising nitrate levels in many local water bodies can be traced to fertilizer. Nitrate is a form of nitrogen… Read more

To help lower lake levels and prevent flooding, the District recently partnered with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the University of Florida Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants and the Panavista Fish Camp to treat and remove hydrilla from the Lake Panasoffkee Outlet River in Sumter County. Water naturally flows out of Lake Panasoffkee to the Withlacoochee River through the Outlet River. Hydrilla, an invasive species, recently grew so dense… Read more

For decades, the District’s five advisory committees have played an important role in providing input on water management programs, projects and related issues. The diverse committees are made up of volunteers from different industries who serve as liaisons between the District and their organizations. At quarterly meetings, committee members are presented with items of interest from District staff, and other subject matter experts, that relate to their industries. They… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will hold a public meeting Tuesday, March 1, at 5:30 p.m., to share information about the Weeki Wachee Channel Restoration Project. The meeting will take place at the Coast Guard Auxiliary Meeting Hall, located at 4340 Calienta St. in Hernando Beach. This multiyear project evaluated accumulated sediments in the river and identified where removal of sediments will benefit the river’s ecosystem. The contractor… Read more

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District's Governing Board":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/ voted on Tuesday to expand hunting opportunities at two District-managed lands. Hunting opportunities will be expanded on these District properties: • The Lake Panasoffkee property will offer 21 days of small game hunting.• The Weekiwachee Preserve will offer 30 days of archery in its southern portion. In addition, the northern portion of the property will be included in the… Read more

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District's ":http://www.WaterMatters.org Governing Board yesterday approved funding for a project that will reduce groundwater withdrawals in DeSoto County by an estimated annual average savings of 160,000 gallons per day.J.R. Paul Properties, Inc. will be reimbursed up to $128,000 for a surface water irrigation reservoir and tailwater recovery system at its 1,833-acre citrus grove and 17-acre field nursery. The property is located… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) is seeking public input about the order in which minimum flows and levels (MFLs) for lakes, wetlands, rivers, streams and aquifers in the District will be determined. Legislation requires the District to review and, if necessary, revise the schedule each year.A minimum flow or level is the limit at which further water withdrawals will cause significant harm to the water resources or environment. The District… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board will hold its monthly meeting on Monday, Nov. 26 at the Quorum Hotel Westshore. The hotel is located at 700 N. Westshore Blvd in Tampa.The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. and will include discussion about extending and possibly tightening the current one-day-per-week watering restrictions, which are scheduled to expire on Nov. 30.The Governing Board typically meets on Tuesdays. This month the meeting is… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is seeking public input about the order in which minimum flows and levels (MFLs) for lakes, rivers, streams and aquifers in the District will be determined.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 the delicate balance between meeting human water needs and… Read more

*DeSoto County High School's* Jerry Waters was 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 DeSoto… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board Tuesday approved the renewal and modification of a water use permit (WUP) for the Town of Dundee to meet the projected population growth through 2012.Dundee is located approximately five miles east of the City of Winter Haven.The renewed permit combines two permits and increases the combined total quantity. The previous combined annual average permitted quantity was 1,011,100 gallons of water per day (gpd.) The… Read more