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The Southwest Florida Water Management District has completed a draft of an updated Regional Water Supply Plan that assesses projected water demands and identifies potential sources of water to meet those demands through the year 2025.The updated plan also addresses the need to sustain water resources and the related natural systems, and includes estimated costs for potential projects. The current plan was developed in 2001.The challenge will be meeting growing water supply…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District has completed a draft of an updated Regional Water Supply Plan that assesses projected water demands and identifies potential sources of water to meet those demands through the year 2025.The updated plan also addresses the need to sustain water resources and the related natural systems, and includes estimated costs for potential projects. The current plan was developed in 2001.The challenge will be meeting growing water supply…

Please read these important details: 

• If requesting Splash! grant funds to support an on-site or virtual field trip, please select a program (not just location) from this list.
• Field trip locations must be one hour or less drive time from your school. Notice the counties listed in parenthesis next to the field trip programs. This indicates that most schools within that county are likely to meet the travel requirement.  
• Notice the grade…

At its June 5 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Peace River Basin Board adopted a proposed fiscal year 2010 (FY2010) millage rate of 0.1827 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year. The Peace River Basin Board area includes Hardee, DeSoto and portions of Polk, Highlands and Charlotte counties.This proposed millage rate combined with a reduction in taxable property values as estimated by the five county property appraisers will result…

District land managers plan to hold a series of hog hunts on District lands throughout the year to help reduce the feral hog population. Feral hogs, which are not native to Florida, can cause damage with their broad snouts and can leave an area looking like a plowed field. They also prey on native wildlife, compete with native species for food and transmit diseases to other wildlife, livestock and humans. Additionally, hogs may facilitate the spread of exotic plant…

The Governing Board charged District staff in January with initiating a public process to receive input on four strategies aimed at protecting the natural resources in the northern portion of the District due to rapid growth and development. The four strategies include expansion of the Southern Water Use Caution Area (SWUCA) per capita requirements Districtwide; expansion of the Northern Tampa Bay WUCA into northeastern Hillsborough and the remainder of Pasco counties…

Eight Hillsborough County projects expected to reach more than 175,000 people were awarded Community Education Grants from the "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":http://watermatters.org. These grants offer up to $5,000 to help fund projects that provide communities an opportunity to learn about water resources. This year the District awarded "35 grants Districtwide(2010 Community Education Grant Projects)":http://www.…

Top: Volunteers install aquatic plants at Dunnellon’s Blue Run Park. Second from top: Master Gardeners Chet Olshewsky, left, and JoEllen Allen staff an Ask-An-Expert Booth in Inverness. Third from top: Boy Scouts from Troop 452 mark storm drains in Dunnellon. Fourth from top: Water Quality Monitoring Program staff lead a tour of Kings Bay. Bottom: Dave DeWitt, District senior geologist/engineer, center, takes a tour group into Dames Caves. Educational events held…

The District recently kicked off a new multimedia public service advertising campaign to educate residents on Florida-friendly fertilizing. “There are a lot of misconceptions about how to fertilize properly,” said Virginia Sternberger, senior communications coordinator in the District’s Public Education Section. “For example, some residents think that if a little fertilizer will help their lawns, a lot will be even better. Some think that the best time to fertilize is…

  April is Water Conservation Month for a reason. It is the time of year in our state when the demand for water resources is high and the supply is low. Although the spring months are typically the driest part of the year, this year’s recent warmer-than-usual temperatures and less-than-average rainfall have resulted in severely low water resources. “We are currently in a moderate drought, with the northern region of our District more heavily affected,” said…

One of the District’s agricultural cooperative funding programs may have a positive impact on the health of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. A group of Australian sugar cane growers interested in improving water quality recently traveled to Sarasota to meet with staff to discuss the District’s Facilitating Agricultural Resource Management Systems (FARMS) Program. A sugar cane industry representative discovered the program while surfing the Internet. “I have to admit…

Dozens of Lealman residents joined representatives from the District and Pinellas County in September to celebrate the opening of the first phase of the Joes Creek Greenway to the public. The restoration project is a cooperative effort to restore wildlife habitat and improve water quality in Joes Creek through treatment of stormwater runoff, while providing the community access to the greenway for recreation. Lealman is a small community in central Pinellas County…

 District staff and Governing and Basin Board members toured The Villages. From left to right: Albert “Bo” Rooks, Withlacoochee River Basin Board member; John Heuer, deputy executive director; Janet Kovach, Governing Board member; Jerry Rice, Governing Board vice chair; Seeth Trimpert, Withlacoochee River Basin Board vice chair; John Arnett, III, water resources engineer for The Villages; Janey Baldwin, Withlacoochee River Basin Board member; Gary Moyer, vice…

At its June 7 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Alafia River Basin Board adopted a proposed fiscal year 2008 (FY2008) millage rate of 0.240 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year.Further, in the event that a tax reduction is mandated by the Legislature during its special session later this month, the Basin Board has authorized the Executive Director to recalculate its millage rate to reflect the change in revenue prescribed by the…

Jason DiBattista, District tradesworker, inspects the sprinkler heads at the District each month, cleaning in and around them. The District’s rain sensor device overrides the irrigation timer if there has been enough rain. Making sure your irrigation system is operating effectively and efficiently is always important, but it is even more critical during periods of drought when water restrictions are tighter. Here are a few simple ways to check your irrigation…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Withlacoochee River Basin Board Thursday adopted a fiscal year 2007 (FY2007) millage rate of 0.265 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year.The budget for FY2007 is $10,214,705, which is an increase of $1,558,584 from the approved FY2006 budget. The main reason for this increase is higher property values. FY2007 will run from Oct. 1, 2006, through Sept. 30, 2007.The Withlacoochee River Basin Board area covers…

At its June 15 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Withlacoochee River Basin Board adopted a proposed fiscal year 2007 (FY2007) millage rate of 0.265 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year.The proposed budget for FY2007 is $8,592,868, which is a decrease of $63,253 from the approved FY2006 budget. FY2007 will run from Oct. 1, 2006, through Sept. 30, 2007.The Withlacoochee River Basin Board area covers portions of Pasco, Hernando,…

District land managers plan to hold a series of hog hunts on District lands throughout the year to help reduce the feral hog population. Feral hogs, which are not native to Florida, can cause damage with their broad snouts and can leave an area looking like a plowed field. They also prey on native wildlife, compete with native species for food and transmit diseases to other wildlife, livestock and humans. Additionally, hogs may facilitate the spread of exotic plant…

District land managers plan to hold a series of hog hunts on District lands throughout the year to help reduce the feral hog population. Feral hogs, which are not native to Florida, can cause damage with their broad snouts and can leave an area looking like a plowed field. They also prey on native wildlife, compete with native species for food and transmit diseases to other wildlife, livestock and humans. Additionally, hogs may facilitate the spread of exotic plant…