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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

As the 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.  The District regularly conducts important work that helps protect… 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 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

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 recognized Stephanie Dunda, a Phoenix Academy teacher, for her outstanding water resources education program. A total of 26 projects were recognized Wednesday during the “Partners in Watershed Education Conference” at the Crowne Plaza Tampa East Hotel.Dunda’s eighth-grade class studied Florida-friendly gardens and created a hydroponics system for the school after conducting research at Selby Botanical Gardens… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District amended its agreements with the cities of Sebring and Avon Park to include annexed land into each city’s comprehensive watershed management plan.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 protection. The plan will also assist local governments with their land management responsibilities and further the local… Read more

table(webalert). |*Who:*|Southwest Florida Water Management District and Greencastle of Bayonet Point.||*What:*|Greencastle of Bayonet Point, a Port Richey apartment complex, recently became the first in Pasco County to be certified under the "Florida Water Star℠":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/conservation/florida_water_star/ Community standard.The tour will feature the changes that helped cut the community's monthly water bill in half, which saved them nearly $1,000 a month… Read more

Polk County is taking a lead in water conservation as nearly a dozen cities pass laws requiring new homes to be built more water efficient.  As the Polk Regional Water Cooperative (PRWC) works to develop alternative water supplies to meet the region’s projected water supply deficit, many of the PRWC’s 16 municipalities have adopted the ordinances. The City of Eagle Lake became the 10th Polk County city to pass an ordinance since 2018 requiring newly constructed… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is working with Pinellas County on two projects that will treat stormwater within the Lake Tarpon watershed, which will improve water quality discharging to the lake.The Lake Tarpon watershed consists of 52.4 square miles, extending from northern Pinellas County into northwest Hillsborough County. The watershed consists of three major drainage basins, including the Brooker Creek, South Creek and Lake Tarpon basins.Both… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District honored two projects that focus on water resources education in DeSoto and Hardee counties. A total of 26 projects were recognized Wednesday during the “Partners in Watershed Education Conference” at the Crowne Plaza Tampa East Hotel.

• Maran Hilgendorf serves as the Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center communications manager. She has also coordinated Florida-friendly landscaping workshops for DeSoto and…

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Two Polk County projects, cooperatively funded by the Southwest Florida Water Management District, to improve water quality by treating stormwater runoff within the Ridge Lakes watershed will be complete in July.The first project consists of a stormwater treatment system for Lake Menzie. The project includes retrofitting two stormwater pipes that directly discharge into Lake Menzie. These retrofits include two swales, a retention basin, and a long infiltration basin. These… Read more