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Top: Students show off their “Water Cycle in a Bag” projects. Above: Toi Basso, District senior administrative assistant, and Patty Williams, District senior revenue compliance coordinator, sign up students for a water conservation pledge at the Earth Day Expo at Challenger K–8 School of Science and Mathematics. In April, District volunteers fanned out across the region, from kindergarten classes to college campuses and from community festivals to corporate… Read more

Elementary students at Lincoln Avenue Academy in Polk County painted rain barrels as part of their mini-grant. The barrels were then provided to school families and members of the community. Educators interested in securing a Splash! mini-grant for the 2008–2009 school year are invited to apply online on the District’s web site at WaterMatters.org/Education… Read more

A project in Hernando County to educate residents online about water quality issues and water resources was recently awarded a Community Education Grant from the "Southwest Florida Water Management District":http://www.watermatters.org.Twelve grants were awarded Districtwide this year for a total of $50,319. This is the 15th year Community Education Grants have been available. These grants currently help fund projects that provide communities an opportunity to learn about… Read more

 Jointly acquired between the District and the state to protect the water resources of Tampa Bay, the Terra Ceia Preserve State Park is managed by the Florida State Parks system. The lands are mostly uplands of maritime hammocks and mangrove fringe forests. Various wetland communities such as freshwater creeks, freshwater marshes, karst tidal ponds and estuarine marshes are interspersed within the preserve.

 Acquired to preserve Lake Panasoffkee's vast floodplain forest, the land also preserves pine flatwoods, freshwater marshes and oak scrub forest. As the land continues to rise, pines and scrub oaks of upland sandhills replace the wetland forest trees. A comprehensive restoration effort of Lake Panasoffkee has been completed to enhance both the water quality of the lake and recreational opportunities.

At its August 18 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Manasota Basin Board adopted a fiscal year 2005 (FY2005) millage rate of 0.160 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year.The budget forFY2005 is $14,376,009, which represents an increase of $3,516,099 from the approvedFY2004 budget. The increase in the budget is primarily due to additional state funding for the Facilitating Agricultural Resource Management Systems (FARMS) program and… Read more

A Southwest Florida Water Management District project will help a Manatee County citrus grove and sod farm reduce groundwater pumping.The project involves the use of an integrated irrigation system at W.F.A. Land Company, Inc., located on the north fork of the Manatee River. Manatee County is part of a designated water use caution area because it is experiencing environmental impacts due to decades of groundwater over pumping. This project borders the eastern boundary of… Read more

A new law signed by Gov. Charlie Crist promotes the installation of Florida-friendly landscaping. The law states that homeowners associations (HOAs) may not prohibit a homeowner from applying Florida-friendly landscaping to their property or create any requirement or limitation in conflict with state law.Florida-friendly landscaping emphasizes nine easy-to-accomplish principles that, when practiced, can have a significant positive impact on yards and the environment. The… Read more

Flooding during a storm eventNeed assistance? Contact your local emergency management center by calling the number listed below. Charlotte County: (941) 833-4000Citrus County:… Read more

For three decades, District staff have managed hundreds of projects that provided water quality improvement for surface water bodies and restored thousands of acres of habitats through the SWIM program. The Surface Water Improvement and Management Program was created by the Florida Legislature in 1987 to protect, restore and maintain Florida’s… Read more

 A District-funded project to construct the largest man-made groundwater recharge wetland in the world will benefit the aquifer in Pasco County.The Central Pasco Beneficial Water Reuse Project will provide a daily average of 5 million gallons of Pasco County’s highly-treated reclaimed water back to the aquifer through the natural percolation process. The project is a partnership between the District and the County, which shared about $14 million in funding, and the… Read more

Emergency Operations Center at Level 2 activation Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) officials are monitoring Tropical Storm Elsa and have raised the activation level of the District’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to Level 2 as of 10 a.m. July 4, 2021. The EOC provides direction regarding District activities before, during and after an emergency event. The District is continuing to monitor potential impacts from the storm that… Read more

DeSoto County will receive a $3,000 grant from the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s 2006 Community Education Grant Program.DeSoto County was awarded the funds for Water Education Day. This public event will focus on the personal connection of 10,400 low socio-economic DeSoto County residents to the watershed. Participants will be asked about their current knowledge before attending an informal talk about the Peace River watershed and a native plant… Read more

About 20 Eckerd College students recently got an up-close look at one of the structures that helps protect the Tampa area from flooding. The students toured Structure 161 on the Harney Canal. They also met with several District staff about water management issues. The visit was part of the Eckerd course “Value of Florida Water.”  “The four-week course explores all issues pertaining to water,” said Megan Cook, course instructor. “This is a great opportunity for… Read more

The Southwest Florida Management District and the City of Belleair Bluffs are working together on a project that will improve stormwater drainage within the Belleair Bluffs watershed.The project will also upgrade the stormwater system by adding storm piping and constructing roadway curbs and curb inlets to control stormwater runoff.It also involves installing a Continuous Deflective Separation (CDS) unit to remove sediments and pollutants, which will improve the water… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is inviting the public to come out for a special event focusing on the Brooker Creek watershed on Saturday, Oct. 16 at the Target in the Shoppes at Boot Ranch. The event takes place from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.This event allows kids of all ages to learn about water through hands-on activities that focus on the importance of protecting the Brooker Creek watershed. This event is part of Watershed Wonders Week, a grass roots campaign… Read more

Most of the Tampa Bay area will see temperatures near freezing tonight through Friday night. This has prompted the Southwest Florida Water Management District to advise residents who live near Plant City and Dover to switch off the pumps on their wells at night and leave the pumps off until the temperatures warm up each morning.During a freeze or near freezing temperatures, farmers pump additional water from their wells to protect their crops, causing aquifer levels to drop… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s (District) Governing Board voted to decrease property taxes by adopting a proposed rolled-back millage rate of 0.1909 mill for the fiscal year 2025 budget.The millage rate is 6.6% lower than the current fiscal year adopted millage rate of 0.2043 mill, a savings to taxpayers of approximately $9.5 million.For the owner of a $150,000 home with a $50,000 homestead exemption, the District tax would be $19.09 a year, or… Read more

Eight Pinellas County projects that have the potential to reach approximately 298,800 people were awarded Community Education Grants from the Southwest Florida Water Management District. 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 32 grants Districtwide. This is the 12th year Community Education Grants have been available.The overall goal of the Community… Read more

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ is inviting the public to comment on proposed "minimum flows and levels(Minimum Flows and Levels)":/mfl (MFLs) for the Homosassa River and associated springs at a public workshop on Wednesday, Oct. 13. The workshop will be held from 6:30 to approximately 9 p.m. at the Homosassa Civic Club, 5530 S. Mason Creek Road in Homosassa.The state Legislature requires the District to set… Read more