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The Southwest Florida Water Management District's (District) Governing Board has approved a contract for the purchase of a significant portion of the eastern bank of the Rainbow River. The parcel proposed for acquisition consists of nearly 115 acres and includes nearly a half mile of river frontage. The contract also contains provisions to protect an additional 620 feet of shoreline associated with existing private landholdings.Rainbow Springs is the largest first magnitude…

Terese Power, a staff engineer with the Southwest Florida Water Management District, uses a watershed model to show Lacy Garman from Brooksville how pollution works its way into rivers and lakes. District employees combined the annual Take Your Daughters and Sons to Work Day with the 40th anniversary of Earth Day to teach children about conservation, pollution prevention, and environmental stewardship. If you would like a high-resolution photograph for publication, contact…

At its July 26 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Alafia River Basin Board adopted a fiscal year 2008 (FY2008) millage rate of 0.2163 mill, which is .0237 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.…

  Gardenia Long, Watson Haynes II, Charles C. Scott and Lorraine Mayers at the Florida water management districts’ booth at the National Urban League Conference in Chicago, Illinois. Be loyal. Be a team player. Act right. Those are the golden rules that District Governing Board Chair Watson L. Haynes II learned early in his life from his mother, a woman with a third-grade education but a Ph.D. in character. The late Emma Haynes raised seven children…

 Photo left: District staffers Bob Brady, senior field technician; Carol Kraft, staff hydrologist; Dave DeWitt, senior geologist/engineer; and Tim Crosby, field technician, check out Peace Sign cave. Photo center: An 87-year-old tour participant talks to Gary Williams, District senior environmental scientist, on the walk to the caves. Photo right: Tim Crosby, field technician, shows tour participants how the District collects water quality samples. This…

Just two days into their weeklong summer camp and the students of Camp Citrus were looking at water in a whole new way. Their snorkel at Three Sisters Springs wasn’t just a leisurely swim in the pristine waterway. The middle school students examined vegetation, discussed flows and looked for habitats. And that’s the point of Camp Citrus, according to Earnie Olsen lead teacher at the summer camp hosted by the Marine Science Station in Citrus County.  “We not…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board voted Tuesday to elect a new slate of officers for the 2020-2021 term. Kelly Rice was elected chair of the Governing Board. Rice represents Citrus, Lake, Levy and Sumter counties and is a small business owner involved in real estate, agriculture and health care. Rice was appointed to the Governing Board in September 2015. Joel Schleicher was elected vice chair of the Governing Board. Schleicher represents…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is updating the Surface Water Improvement and Management, or SWIM, plan for Sarasota Bay, a priority water body. The SWIM program evaluates priority water bodies, identifies potential problems and implements projects to improve water quality and natural systems.At the public meeting, District staff will give a presentation about Sarasota Bay and the draft report for updating the SWIM plan. The public will have an opportunity to…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will temporarily close the Flying Eagle Dead River Flats airboat slide due to required maintenance. The airboat slide is located on the Flying Eagle berm between the Withlacoochee River and Flying Eagle Marsh in eastern Citrus County.Maintenance activities will start April 14 and are scheduled to be completed by April 25. Attempts to use the slide in its current condition could damage airboats.The District operates…

A light rain greeted about 100 children from the Boys & Girls Club of Hernando County as they arrived at the Weekiwachee Preserve, but the sprinkles didn’t dampen their excitement. The children were there to learn about water resources through fun, hands-on exercises and explorations. This is the third year District staff from several departments worked together to plan the popular field trip. The children, who ranged in age from kindergarten to fifth grade, rotated…

Who: Representatives from the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Land Resources Department, Keep Hillsborough County Beautiful and volunteersWhat: As part of National Public Lands Day, the District’s Land Resources Department is coordinating a volunteer beach trash pick up along the District’s Piney Point Tract, which was acquired from TECO with funds from the Florida Forever Program. This property, which consists of 2,376 acres of uplands and coastal habitats,…

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District's Governing Board ":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/ voted today to begin the process to sell its Bartow Service Office and relocate staff to two other locations.The move is part of the "District's reorganization ":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/news/article/1764/ to increase efficiencies, reduce operational costs and meet the District's core mission responsibilities in the areas of water supply, flood protection, water quality…

table(webalert). |Who:|Students and staff from Wildwood Middle High School and field experts from the "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ .||*What:*|Sumter County School District personnel and District field experts will engage 85 seventh-grade students in activities that integrate the use of technology tools with the collection and recording of data about the site. The highlights include conducting water quality…

Workshop to follow at 10:30 a.m. The Southwest Florida Water Management District's Governing Board will hold its monthly meeting Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 9 a.m. at District Headquarters, located at 2379 Broad Street in Brooksville. After the Governing Board meeting, the District will hold an informational workshop on water resources planning and financial projections. To view the Governing Board meeting online, click on the…

Who: Representatives from Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation, and Conservation Department, Keep Hillsborough County Beautiful, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) Program staff and volunteersWhat: As part of the 24th annual International Coastal Cleanup, the District’s SWIM Program staff is helping coordinate a volunteer work day at Marsh Creek in Ruskin. More than 100 volunteers are needed to help…

At its June 17 meeting, the "Southwest Florida Water Management District's(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us Withlacoochee River Basin Board adopted a proposed fiscal year 2011 (FY2011) millage rate of 0.2308 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…

At its June 10 meeting, the "Southwest Florida Water Management District's(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us Hillsborough River Basin Board adopted a proposed fiscal year 2011 (FY2011) millage rate of 0.2300 mill, which 0.0121 lower than the current fiscal year. The "Hillsborough River Basin Board(Hillsborough River Basin Board)":/about/basinboards/hillsborough.php area covers Hillsborough County and portions of Pasco and Polk…

At its June 11 meeting, the "Southwest Florida Water Management District's(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us Peace River Basin Board adopted a proposed fiscal year 2011 (FY2011) millage rate of 0.1827 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year. The "Peace River Basin Board (Peace River Basin Board)":/about/basinboards/peace.php area includes Hardee, DeSoto and portions of Polk, Highlands and Charlotte counties.This millage…

At its June 10 meeting, the "Southwest Florida Water Management District's(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us Alafia River Basin Board adopted a proposed fiscal year 2011 (FY2011) millage rate of 0.2163 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year. The "Alafia River Basin Board(Alafia River Basin Board)":/about/basinboards/alafia.php area covers the southern portion of Hillsborough County and the southwestern portion of Polk…

At its June 9 meeting, the "Southwest Florida Water Management District's(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us Coastal Rivers Basin Board adopted a proposed fiscal year 2011 (FY2011) millage rate of 0.1885 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year. The "Coastal Rivers Basin Board(Coastal Rivers Basin Board)":/about/basinboards/coastal.php covers portions of Citrus, Hernando and Pasco counties.This millage rate, combined with a…