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_Water Reuse Workshop to start at 9:00 a.m._The Southwest Florida Water Management District's Governing Board will hold its monthly meeting on Tuesday, October 25 at 11 a.m. The meeting will immediately follow an information workshop on reuse. Both meetings will take place at the District's Headquarters, located at 2379 Broad Street in Brooksville. To view the Governing Board meeting and workshop online, visit Watermatters.org and click on the "Live Video Stream" link. The…

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ is inviting the public to an open house about Lake Panasoffkee on Tuesday, Dec. 7. The workshop will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. at "Lake Panasoffkee Recreation Park(Lake Panasoffkee Recreation Park)":http://sumtercountyfl.gov/index.aspx?NID=207, 1582 CR 459, Lake Panasoffkee.The District is holding the open house to discuss the success of the restoration project as well as current…

Some areas of the District are still seeing rising floodwater. Flooding can occur days and even weeks after a storm due to numerous factors. Where, when and how much rainfall occurred are just some of the reasons for post-Milton flooding.When: The District has experienced an above-average year of rainfall. Hurricane Milton brought heavy rains at the end of the summer rainy season when the ground was already saturated and water levels were already high, preventing further…

From left: Jason DiBattista, left, and Jeff Toth inspect irrigation systems at the District’s headquarters in Brooksville. Center: Kris Miller, a tradesworker in the Tampa service office, checks a microjet. Right: Steve Noble, a tradesworker in the Sarasota service office, inspects a conversion manifold filter. More District tradesworkers are versed in micro-irrigation technology after attending a training course in Tampa. Tradesworkers and other staff from…

At its Aug. 12 meeting, the Southwest "Southwest Florida Water Management District's(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us Withlacoochee River Basin Board adopted a fiscal year 2011 (FY2011) millage rate of 0.23 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year. The "Withlacoochee River Basin Board(Withlacoochee River Basin Board)":/about/basinboards/withlacoochee.php area covers portions of Citrus, Hernando, Levy, Marion, Pasco and…

The Land Management Section of the "Southwest Florida Water Management District":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/ (District) will be conducting prescribed burns during the months of June, July and August on the Deer Prairie Creek Preserve and neighboring Schewe Tract.Deer Prairie Creek Preserve, which is jointly owned and managed by the District and Sarasota County, lies between Interstate 75 and US Highway 41. The Schewe Tract, which lies north and south of Interstate 75 just…

h2. Rate Reduced to Meet $108 Million Ad Valorem CapThe "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ "Governing Board(Governing Board)":/about/governingboard Tuesday adopted its proposed fiscal year 2012 (FY2012) millage rate.The proposed FY2012 millage rate of 0.3928 mill takes into account the merger of the budgets of the District's eight Basin Boards into the Governing Board, and the $108 million cap on ad valorem…

In October, the Southwest Florida Water Management District will celebrate the Hillsborough River and the Hillsborough River watershed with a series of events along the river.The District’s Hillsborough River Basin Board has declared the week of Oct. 20 through 27 as “Hillsborough River Watershed Awareness Week.” The participating city and county governments plan to recognize the week, which was modeled after a similar event in April that focused on the Peace River…

Executive Director Resigns Governing Board Chairman Ronnie Duncan received the call at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 16. After six years at the helm, Sonny Vergara was resigning as executive director, effective Jan. 17. Duncan’s reaction: surprise, sadness, a “little gut wrenching.” It soon became clear to Duncan that Vergara had mountains left to climb. “Sonny is an extraordinary individual, one that thrives off of the challenge, that thrives off of the adrenaline…

Guest speakers and songs will be featured at the 6th Annual Marion County Springs Festival, which is being held Saturday, Sept. 22, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Silver River State Park.A variety of experts will speak about Florida’s springs and springs protection during the festival, including Chris Zajac, an environmental scientist with the Southwest Florida Water Management District. Zajac will talk about the District’s projects on the Rainbow River. Other…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be conducting “controlled, prescribed burns” during the rest of March and April on the District’s Weekiwachee Preserve and the Annuteliga Hammock.The Weekiwachee Preserve is approximately one mile west of Spring Hill. Approximately 300 acres of land will be burned in small, manageable units.The Annuteliga Hammock tract is approximately three miles south of Chassahowitzka. Approximately 800 acres of land…

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us is seeking public input to improve identification of flooding risks in the *Buffalo Canal/Frog Creek watershed* of Manatee County.The District is serving as a cooperating technical partner for the "Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)(Federal Emergency Management Agency)":http://www.fema.gov on its national effort to "update and modernize the…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board voted Tuesday to elect a new slate of officers for the 2019-2020 term. Mark Taylor was elected chair of the Governing Board. Taylor represents Hernando and Marion counties and is president of TTG Properties, Inc., a real estate management, investment and development firm. Taylor was appointed to the Governing Board in August 2016. Michelle Williamson was elected vice chair of the Governing Board.…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be conducting “controlled, prescribed burns” during the months of October through December on the District’s Deer Prairie Creek property. The property is located north and south of I-75 between mile markers 186 and 190. The property’s southern border is U.S. 41 between Myakka River and the North Port. The scheduled, managed burns are a part of routine maintenance of lands managed by the District…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board Tuesday approved the purchase of a parcel of land in connection with the Lake Hancock Project. The property is an important part of the creation of a greenway link.The parcel is approximately 590 acres of land and is located along the eastern shore of Lake Hancock. Located west of Thornhill Road, south of the Polk Parkway and State Road 540, the property is being purchased for $5,225,000 from Tom and Tham…

SWIM Success Story An ugly duckling was transformed into a pollution-removing swan through a District Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) project. The “ugly duckling” in this story was a Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) borrow pit that was turned into a stormwater pond to improve the water quality of 600 acres of runoff that flows into Tampa Bay. While the project may not sound like a big deal to someone who doesn’t know anything about…

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…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be conducting “controlled, prescribed burns” during October and November on two District sites in Hillsborough County. The sites are the Alafia Reservoir property and the Lower Hillsborough property.The Alafia Reservoir property is approximately 3 miles southwest of Lithia. Approximately 25 acres of land will be burned in small, manageable units.The Lower Hillsborough property is approximately 4 miles northeast…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board Tuesday approved the purchase of a 5,484-acre parcel of land in Citrus County. This acquisition will be added to the 11,454 acres that the District either owns or holds an interest within the Flying Eagle project.The property, commonly known as the McGregor Smith Scout Reservation,is located south of S.R. 44 in Citrus County, approximately 6 miles east of the City of Inverness.The land is being purchased for $…

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ is celebrating "Florida Arbor Day(Florida Arbor Day)":http://www.arborday.org/states/?state=FL by inviting volunteers to the District's "Lake Panasoffkee property(Lake Panasoffkee property)":/recreation/areas/lakepanasoffkee.html in Sumter County to plant trees on Friday, Jan. 21, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.The District is planting several hundred trees, including live oaks and long…