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A project funded by the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board and Clearwater will make the city’s reclaimed water system more efficient, allowing more customers to connect.The Clearwater Reclaimed Water System Meter Retrofit Project consists of retrofitting approximately 3,300 existing Clearwater reclaimed water connections with individual meters and their related equipment. Retrofitting the meters will allow the city… Read more

A Tampa Bay area developer is the first to sign on with the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s new, comprehensive water conservation program for new home construction, Florida Water Star (FWSG).FWSG is a voluntary certification program for builders. It encourages water efficiency in household appliances, plumbing fixtures, irrigation systems and landscapes, as well as water quality benefits from best management practices in landscapes.Carl Krave, president… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District has begun construction of a project that will improve water quality entering McKay Bay and Tampa Bay.The McKay Bay-Eastshore Commerce Park Parcel Stormwater Retrofit project will treat runoff from the 1,050-acre basin within the McKay Bay watershed of Tampa Bay, which is a Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) priority water body. The project will be built on land owned by Tampa Bay Water.Stormwater will be diverted… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District has completed a draft of an updated Regional Water Supply Plan that assesses projected water demands and identifies potential sources of water to meet those demands through the year 2025.The updated plan also addresses the need to sustain water resources and the related natural systems, and includes estimated costs for potential projects. The current plan was developed in 2001.The challenge will be meeting growing water supply… Read more

The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is inviting greenhouse, nursery, foliage, strawberry and vegetable growers to attend a free tour and workshop promoting the use of recycled and reclaimed water in the horticulture industry.The workshop is April 29 from noon – 4 p.m. at the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, 14625 County Road 672, Wimauma. This regional workshop will feature presentations from industry and… Read more

When Wayne Rubow designed his new Citrus County home, he wanted water conservation to be a central concept of the design. Inside, he chose low-flow faucets, showerheads and toilets. He installed water-efficient appliances like a dishwasher and washing machine. Outside, his landscape has no grass and no irrigation, instead opting for plants that require little water. "Water is a very important aspect of our conservation," Rubow said. "I just wanted to give… Read more

As the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) continues its efforts to protect the Weeki Wachee River, the public should be aware they may see District staff and contractors working in and along the river, including the portion deemed a springs protection zone. … Read more

A water conservation and retrofit program funded by the Southwest Florida Water Management District and the City of North Port will reduce demand and conserve water.The program will offer financial incentives to residents who retrofit their homes with water efficient fixtures such as low-flow toilets, low-flow showerheads and rain sensors. As part of the program, participating homeowners will receive low-flow showerheads free of charge. The funding will provide rebates of… Read more

Hernando County residents who completed a rain barrel class at the county Extension office each took home their own rain barrel. Darcy Paust used to collect rainwater in buckets placed around her Spring Hill home to water her plants. Then she read about a rain barrel class in the paper and thought having a rain barrel would be easier than collecting the water from her buckets. Paust joined the thousands of residents who attend rain barrel classes at their… Read more

Homeowners and gardeners looking to perk up their yard can learn a lot about landscaping at the Green Thumb Festival in St. Petersburg. In fact, they can even pick up Florida-friendly landscaping tips when they use the restroom!The Southwest Florida Water Management District is bringing its water conservation restrooms to the festival being held April 29-30. Community festivals allow the District to spread the word about water conservation to a variety of audiences.In… Read more

Palmetto residents now have a new Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) well. District leaders recently helped the City of Palmetto and other agencies cut the ribbon on the new facility, which will create an anticipated 144 million gallons per year of storage for reclaimed water that would otherwise be discharged into Terra Ceia Bay. In the past 10 years, the city has developed a reclaimed water system that services the majority of residential and commercial customers.… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board Tuesday approved the consolidation of three water use permits (WUP) for Hernando County Utilities.The consolidated permit includes an increase in quantities. The new permit is for a combined annual average quantity of 24,390,000 gallons per day (gpd), which is an increase of 3,360,000 gpd or 16 percent.Gross per capita use is projected to decrease by 12 percent, from 187 gallons per person per day to 164 gallons… Read more

Blog note: Projects and Partners is a new WaterMatters Blog series that highlights various innovative projects of the District and its partners to benefit the community. District leaders recently celebrated with other community partners the new reclaimed water project at Tampa Electric Company’s Polk Power Station. When in operation later this year, the City of Lakeland plants will pump waste water to a treatment plant about 15 miles away.… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is offering Community Education Grants to members of the community who want to make a positive impact on the water resources in their area.The goal of the District’s Community Education Grant Program is to actively engage adults in water-related issues pertaining to conservation, protection and preservation. Funded by the District’s Basin Boards, the program is intended to motivate communities to get involved in… Read more

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ is inviting area landscaping professionals to compete for the title of "Ruling Water Champion" at the District's second Landscape Challenge competition, from 8 a.m. to noon Thursday, March 17 at the District's headquarters, 2379 Broad Street in Brooksville.Teams of landscape maintenance professionals will compete by demonstrating landscape management practices that protect our… Read more

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":http://watermatters.org and the University of Florida are offering a free seminar on using advanced irrigation tools to save water. The University's "Florida Automated Weather Network(Florida Automated Weather Network)":http://fawn.ifas.ufl.edu/ (FAWN) is holding the seminar from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., May 13, at the Hillsborough County Extension office, 5339 County Road 579, Seffner.… Read more

Starkey Ranch in Pasco County is home to the state’s first community welcome center to be certified Florida Water Star℠. The welcome center is a visitor’s first stop to get information on the new 2,400-acre master-planned community. Being certified Florida Water Star℠ means it features a water-efficient landscape, irrigation, appliances and plumbing fixtures.  For example, the welcome center has low-flow toilets, high-efficiency faucets and an ENERGY STAR… Read more

Who: Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing and Basin Board members and staff; City of Dunedin and Pinellas County elected officials and staff; Carl Krave, Pocket Neighborhoods, Inc. president; Tampa Bay Builders Association and the Greater Tampa Bay Association of RealtorsWhat: The District is launching its Florida Water StarSM Gold (FWSG) certification program for builders and developers. The program encourages water efficiency in household appliances,… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District and the Town of Redington Shores recently signed an amendment to an existing agreement to move forward on phases two through four of a project that will improve water quality and reduce flooding.Phases two and three include upgrading the stormwater system by adding inlets and storm piping, a Continuous Deflective Separation (CDS) unit, which will treat stormwater runoff, and the associated roadway reconstruction. A CDS unit… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District District) is seeking public input about the order in which minimum flows and levels (MFLs) for lakes, wetlands, rivers, streams and aquifers in the District will be determined. Legislation requires the District to review and, if necessary, revise this schedule each year. Following the directive in the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Emergency Order to conduct all public meetings electronically to reduce the… Read more