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At its July 25 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Manasota Basin Board adopted a fiscal year 2008 (FY2008) millage rate of 0.1484 mill, which is .0116 less than the current fiscal year. This reduction is in accordance with the tax reduction mandated by the Florida Legislature.The FY2008 millage rate has been set equal to 97 percent of the rolled-back rate in compliance with House Bill 1B, the tax reform legislation signed into law by Gov.…

In accordance with a new law passed during the 2014 state legislative session, all lobbyists will be required to register with the Southwest Florida Water Management District. Senate Bill 846, recently signed by Governor Rick Scott, goes into effect July 1 and requires Florida's five water management districts to develop a lobbyist registration process. A separate registration form must be submitted to each water management district that a person will be lobbying. Starting…

At its June 6 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Coastal Rivers Basin Board adopted a proposed fiscal year 2007 (FY2007) millage rate of 0.205 mill, which is .03 mill below the FY2006 rate of .235 mill. This reduction was based on the estimated increase in property values for FY2007.FY2007 will run from Oct. 1, 2006, through Sept. 30, 2007.The Coastal Rivers Basin Board covers portions of Citrus, Hernando and Pasco counties. For the owner of a…

*WHO:* Secretary Herschel T. Vinyard, Jr., Department of Environmental Protection State Representative Jimmie T. Smith, District 43 Chairman Carlos Beruff, Southwest Florida Water Management District Dennis Damato, Citrus County Commission, District 1*WHAT:* The Chassahowitzka Springs sediment removal project began in May 2013 and resulted in the removal of approximately 3,000 cubic yards of material from the…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is seeking public input about proposed minimum and guidance levels for selected Pasco County lakes.A public workshop will be held to discuss proposed levels for King Lake, King Lake (East) and Lake Linda. The meeting will be held Wednesday, Nov. 14, 6:30 p.m. at the Land O’ Lakes Community Center, 5401 Land O’ Lakes Boulevard (U.S. Highway 41), Land O’ Lakes.A minimum flow or level (MFL) is the limit at which…

David W. Dunbar recently was appointed to the District’s Governing Board by Gov. Rick Scott. Dunbar, of Palm Harbor, is a commercial banker and chairman of Synovus Bank of Florida. He was appointed to succeed Jennifer Closshey and his term ends March 1, 2017. The Governing Board position represents both Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.  The 61-year-old describes himself as an avid coastal fisherman with an understanding of water issues and the impact on the…

All Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) offices will close at noon Tuesday, Oct. 8 and will remain closed Wednesday, Oct. 9 and Thursday Oct. 10 due to potential impacts from Hurricane Milton. The District anticipates reopening offices Friday, Oct. 11, but will continue to monitor the progress of Hurricane Milton to determine if future closings are necessary.District structure operations staff will continue to monitor water levels and operate all of…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is seeking public input about proposed minimum and guidance levels for Citrus County lakes.A public workshop will be held to discuss proposed levels for Fort Cooper Lake and the Floral City, Hernando and Inverness pools of Tsala Apopka Lake in Citrus County. The meeting will be held Tuesday, Oct. 17, at the Citrus County Auditorium, 3610 South Florida Avenue (U.S. Highway 41), Inverness. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m.A…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District has recently signed agreements with Hernando County to develop comprehensive watershed management plans for several watersheds within the county.The plans will be used to determine feasible drainage alternatives that may be constructed to enhance and restore water quality and natural systems, or for flood relief. The plan will also assist local governments with their land management responsibilities and further the goals.Plans…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is seeking public input about proposed minimum flows and levels (MFL) for Lake Panasoffkee in Sumter County.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 a balance between meeting human water needs and those of Florida’s natural systems. Minimum lake levels…

Gov. Rick Scott appointed George Mann to the Southwest Florida Water Management District's "Governing Board":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/about/governingboard/ Wednesday.Mann, of Polk City, is a retired business development manager at Treatt USA, which processes citrus products. Mann was appointed to succeed Neil Combee, and his term ends March 1, 2013.Mann is currently serving as a board member of Anchor House Ministry. Previously, he served on the Florida Citrus…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board will hold its monthly meeting Tuesday, Nov. 18 at 9 a.m. at the Tampa Service Office, located at 7601 U.S. Highway 301 North. To view the Governing Board meeting online, click on the live video stream link. The video stream link becomes active and the live video feed begins…

Five Polk County projects expected to reach up to 104,000 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.state.fl…

From left: Lake Panasoffkee, Rainbow River, Clam Bayou and Tampa Bypass Canal During the spring, the District has experienced an influx of new Governing Board members. This change in leadership has led to the need for informational tours throughout the District. “Board members can read about a project or a water resource, but actually getting out to see a particular site to learn about it and ask questions of our staff gives our Board members a better…

District information will soon be just a simple “point and click” away with its newest innovation, the Water Management Information System, or WMIS. WMIS will centralize information from the District’s well construction permitting, resource data, water use permitting and environmental resource permitting databases, making it easily accessible for both the staff and the public. Upon completion, WMIS will increase the amount of information online, facilitate online…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board today approved the joint acquisition of the property known as the Overstreet parcel with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and Polk County.This is a great opportunity for the District to partner with Polk County and the state to purchase the property, said Heidi McCree, Governing Board chair.The motion to approve the purchase was made by Governing Board member Neil Combee, who is co-…

Florida may soon have a new 5,000-acre state park in the Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve in Polk County.On April 24 the Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board will consider a joint acquisition of the property known as the Overstreet parcel with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and Polk County.As the lead agency, District staff negotiated a price of approximately $53,700,000 for the 5,118-acre property. Under the agreement, Polk…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) has scheduled restoration work on the Orange State Canal located in Citrus County. The work is scheduled to take place from May 16 to June 15. Boat access from the Withlacoochee River through the canal will not be available during the scheduled restoration work. Activity is scheduled to occur during daylight hours between Monday and Friday each week. Restoration work on the Orange State Canal will focus on…

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…