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Staff from four water management districts across the state recently attended a week-long training at District headquarters to learn more about a software program that facilitates environmental flow assessments through instream habitat analysis. The November training on System for Environmental Flow Assessment (SEFA) was led by Ian Jowett and Tom Payne, two leading experts in hydraulic habitat modeling and co-developers of the software program. “The program ensures…

More than 700 of the best and brightest minds in water reuse met in Tampa this September to take part in the 22nd Annual WateReuse Symposium, which focused on water reuse and desalination. This is the first time the WateReuse Association has held its annual event in the Tampa Bay area. The association is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to advance the beneficial and efficient use of water resources through education, sound science and technology using…

Kass Sink looked harmless enough from the edge, but just below the surface, piles of garbage and debris sat potentially poisoning the drinking water. Kass Sink is like many other sinkholes in Hernando and Citrus counties. Most are clustered around or are considered a part of one of the five first-magnitude springs systems: Weeki Wachee, Homosassa, Chassahowitzka, Kings Bay and Rainbow springs. Some of the sinks have a direct connection to the aquifer. While others may…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) is seeking public input to determine the priority of minimum flows and levels (MFLs) establishment for lakes, wetlands, rivers, streams and aquifers in the District as well as the establishment of water reservations. Legislation requires the District to review and, if necessary, revise this schedule each year. The District will hold a virtual public meeting Aug. 24 at 5 p.m. Members of the public can join the…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District has a new Community Affairs Coordinator for the District’s Sarasota Service Office. Terri Behling, APR will serve as a liaison between the District and the constituents of Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte and DeSoto counties. She will work closely with the city and county governments and coordinate the District’s Cooperative Funding Initiative. The Sarasota Service Office is located at 6750 Fruitville Road. Behling…

Southwest Florida Water Management District employees recently removed 15 tons of tires and 68 tons of other garbage and debris from a sinkhole near Crews Lake in Pasco County.The removal efforts are part of the District’s Springs Cleanup Initiative to remove solid waste from sinkholes and other karst features within the Springs Coast Basin, which includes Citrus, Hernando, Pasco and Marion counties. The project is in its second year and has been approved for a third year.…

A project funded by the Southwest Florida Management District and St. Petersburg will improve the quality of the water entering Lake Maggoire.The project will expand on the city’s alum injection system at the16th Street South outfall. Alum is a chemical agent that promotes the formation of large particle aggregates, or floc. The floc is made up of aluminum hydroxide and absorbed constituents of the stormwater. The floc precipitates out of solution, removing a…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) is seeking public input to determine the priority of minimum flows and levels (MFLs) establishment for lakes, wetlands, rivers, streams and aquifers in the District as well as the establishment of water reservations. Legislation requires the District to review and, if necessary, revise this schedule each year.The District will hold a virtual public meeting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 29. Members of the public can…

Built on the concept of collaboration, the Central Florida Water Initiative (CFWI) works with the area's 83 utilities to scale water conservation efforts and promote alternative water supplies for a growing population. "The CFWI is focused on regional, multijurisdictional solutions that serve more than one utility, and by extension more residents, businesses, the agricultural community and other water users in the region," said St. Johns River Water Management District…

A project funded by the Southwest Florida Management District and the city of Belleair Beach will reduce flooding and improve water quality.The project will upgrade the city’s stormwater management system near 12th Street. The roadways and stormwater infrastructure in the area were built before current water quality programs so the area experiences heavy sediment and pollution loading from Gulf Boulevard. The sediment-laden runoff flows directly into an outfall pipe…

The District is taking the state’s annual water conservation efforts in April to another level as the need to conserve is more important than ever. “April is part of Florida’s dry season and the time when the District makes an extra effort to remind residents about the need to conserve,” said Michael Molligan, communications director. “However, this year our water supplies are extremely low, so we have been stepping up our public awareness campaign because we need…

Innovative ways to test and track water were the themes of this year’s student winners of the District’s Water Matters! Awards. The District recently awarded three students with the Water Matters! Award for their work at the Pasco County Science and Engineering Showcase. This is the second year the District has given the award, which was developed in partnership with Pasco County School District. The award recognizes notable projects relating to the mission of protecting…

The District continues to monitor lake and river levels and manage its water control structures around the clock during this historic flooding event caused by Hurricane Milton.Lake and River Level Update

• Lake water levels in most areas are starting to decline and most structures are discharging at maximum capacity. 
• Upper portions of the Hillsborough River have crested and are beginning to decline while the lower portions are…

Attention-Grabbing Exhibit A unique exhibit aimed at getting the word out about water conservation will hit the road again in 2004. “The water conservation restroom trailer proved to be an effective tool in getting our message out to a wide variety of people,” said Beth Bartos, communications manager for the District. The District set up the trailer, funded by the Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board, at five community festivals within the basin last year.…

The City of Wildwood in Sumter Counter is known as “the crossroads of Florida” for its central location near several major roadways in the state. Now, it can also add the distinction of tastiest tap water in West Central Florida. The city’s water department won the annual Best Tasting Drinking Water Contest for Florida Section Region 4 of the American Water Works Association. Mandi Rice, the District’s assistant executive director was one of the judges for Region 4…

“This could change the way we think about construction in the future.”  —Ruffin Gray A Lakeland business saved thousands of gallons of water and paid less for utilities its first year by constructing its new headquarters to Florida Water StarSM standards. Kyra InfoTech, an information technology consulting business headquartered in Lakeland, used 70 percent less water than a comparable business in the area, according to Ruffin Gray,…