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Left: Randy Freeman, civil engineering technician from the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, works with the District to save farmers money and protect water resources. Above: The pond with the pump house is part of the plan the AGSWM team recommended for a strawberry field in Plant City. Because farmers have a unique set of surface water challenges, the District has developed a regulatory assistance exemption program…

Six Pinellas County projects expected to reach more than 18,000 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.swfwmd.…

A cooperative project between the Southwest Florida Water Management District and the City of Lake Wales will reduce flooding near Twin Lakes.During 2004 and 2005, the water levels within Twin Lakes rose significantly and caused flooding in several apartments located east of the lakes. Some of the apartments flooded more than once.According to computer modeling, the 100-year/five-day storm event flood elevations for the lakes would be more the 14 inches higher than the…

Todd Pressman, Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board co-chair, third from left, joins the Oldsmar mayor, city council and utility staff for the groundbreaking of the city’s reverse osmosis plant. District Board members and Pinellas County, Oldsmar and District staff were on hand as the city of Oldsmar broke ground on its reverse osmosis water treatment plant. The plant, capable of producing two million gallons per day, is part of a $20 million project to provide…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board voted Tuesday to elect officers for the 2025-2026 term. John Mitten was elected chair of the Governing Board. Mitten represents Hernando and Marion counties and is the franchise owner of Chick-fil-A in Spring Hill. Mitten was appointed to the Governing Board in October 2020 and was reappointed in August 2024.Jack Bispham was elected vice chair of the Governing Board. Bispham represents Manatee County and is…

Governing Board Secretary Doug Tharp, left, awards the Florida Water StarSM certification to Kenneth D. Colen, president of On Top of the World Communities, Inc. The developer of a major community in Marion County was recently certified as a builder of Florida Water StarSM (FWS) homes. Governing Board Secretary Doug Tharp presented the certification to On Top of the World Communities during the community’s conservation expo in September. The…

Governor Ron DeSantis appointed James “Jim” Turner and reappointed Paul “Jack” Bispham, John Hall, and Nancy Watkins to the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board. Turner represents Charlotte and Sarasota counties, Bispham represents Manatee County, Hall represents Polk County and Watkins represents Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.Turner, of Sarasota, is Senior Counsel at Williams Parker Law Firm. Turner earned his bachelor’s degree in management…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is inviting the public to comment on proposed "minimum guidance levels for Tooke Lake and Whitehurst Pond ":http://www.WaterMatters.org/mfl in Hernando County at a public workshop on Tuesday, Oct. 16. The workshop will be held from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the West Hernando Branch Library, 6335 Blackbird Ave., Weeki Wachee.The state Legislature requires the District to set minimum flows and levels (MFLs) for priority water bodies…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is inviting the public to comment on proposed minimum levels for Bonable, Tiger and Little Bonable lakes in Marion County at a public workshop on Thursday, September 27th. The workshop will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Dunnellon Public Library, 20351 Robinson Road, Dunnellon, Florida 34431.The state Legislature requires the District to set " minimum flows and levels":http://www.WaterMatters.org/mfl (MFLs) for priority…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board Tuesday approved a land management plan for the Chito Branch Reserve in southeastern Hillsborough County that will provide a variety of recreational opportunities for the public.The District purchased the 5,515-acre reserve in 2001, in cooperation with Tampa Bay Water for the primary purpose of building the 16-billion-gallon C.W. “Bill” Young Reservoir to collect and store drinking water.…

A cooperative project between the Southwest Florida Water Management District and Pinellas County will improve water quality within tidal portions of Walls Springs Park and help restore small wetland areas.Located in western Palm Harbor, the well-known park experiences high use and is named after a small surficial spring in the park that discharges water into a small pond that flows into Boggy Bayou. The spring discharges about 3.5 million gallons of water per day during…

Who: Stewart Middle School teachers and students, Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena, former Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board member Sally Thompson and Southwest Florida Water Management District Board members and staffWhat: A ribbon-cutting ceremony will mark the beginning of a unique project between the District and Hillsborough County Public Schools at Stewart Middle School, which is located on…

Groups and individuals interested in applying for a Southwest Florida Water Management District community education grant are invited to attend a grant advisory session for residents with questions about the grants.The advisory session will be held Wednesday, Aug. 25, from 9 a.m.- 3 p.m. at the Tampa Service Office in Conference Room B. The Service Office is located at 7601 U.S. Hwy. 301, Tampa.This “open-house style” session is aimed at answering questions…

Groups and individuals interested in applying for a Southwest Florida Water Management District community education grant are invited to attend a grant advisory session for residents who live in the area represented by the District’s Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board. The area includes Pinellas County and the southern portion of Pasco County.The advisory session will be held Wednesday, Aug. 18, from 12 p.m.- 5 p.m. at the Countryside Library, which is located at…

table(webalert). |Who:|Approximately 100 children from the "Boys & Girls Club of Hernando County(Hernando Boys & Girls Club)":http://www.bgchernando.org/ and "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us staff||*What:*|The District is coordinating a field trip at the "Serenova Tract(Serenova Tract)":/recreation/areas/starkey-serenova.html for children who attend the Boys & Girls Club of…

Who: Countryside High School Parent, Teacher and Student Association (PTSA), Countryside High School band and color guard, Southwest Florida Water Management DistrictWhat: The Countryside High School PTSA will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the new Florida-friendly landscaping in front of the school. The band and color guard will perform during the ceremony. A campus clean-up will follow the ribbon-cutting.The Florida-friendly landscaping was completed with…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is proud to announce the recipients of the 2006 Community Education Grant Program. The grants, which are up to $5,000 each, will help fund projects that provide communities the opportunity to learn about water resources.This is the ninth year community education grants have been available.The overall goal of the Community Education Grant Program is to actively engage adults in water-related issues pertaining to conservation,…

Ten Hillsborough County projects were awarded Community Education Grants from the Southwest Florida Water Management District. The grants, which are up to $5,000 each, will help fund projects that provide communities the opportunity to learn about water resources.This year the District awarded 49 grants Districtwide for a total of $171,444. This is the 10th year Community Education Grants have been available.The overall goal of the Community Education Grant Program is to…

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 Chassahowitzka River at a public workshop on Thursday, Dec. 16. The workshop will be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Citrus County's Lecanto Government Building, 3600 W. Sovereign Path in Lecanto.The District has already held one public workshop on the Chassahowitzka…

_Emergency Operations Center at Level 2 Activation_Southwest Florida Water Management District officials are monitoring Tropical Storm Colin and have raised the activation level of the District's Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to Level 2. The EOC provides direction and controls District activities during an emergency weather event.The District is continuing to monitor potential flooding that could occur throughout our 16-county region due to heavy and sustained rainfall…