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Health & Fitness

Southwest Florida Water Management District to Hold Lakes Rogers and Raleigh Guidance Levels Workshop

The Southwest Florida Water Management District invites the public to comment on proposed minimum guidance levels for Lakes Rogers and Raleigh in Hillsborough County at a public workshop.

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) invites the public to comment on proposed minimum guidance levels for Lakes Rogers and Raleigh in Hillsborough County at a public workshop on Wednesday, May 29. The workshop will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Walker Middle School Cafeteria, located at 8282 North Mobley Road in Odessa.

The state Legislature requires the District to set minimum flows and levels (MFLs) for priority water bodies within the District. A minimum flow or level is the limit at which further water withdrawals will cause significant harm to the water resources and/or environment. Minimum levels are established to protect lakes from impacts associated with ground water and surface water withdrawals. Guidance levels are developed as advisory information on expected water level fluctuations within lake basins. Minimum and Guidance levels serve as guidelines for the District’s permitting programs and for development of water resource projects.

During the workshop, District staff will review the technical basis for the proposed levels. The workshop will also provide an opportunity for local government, citizens, and others to be part of the development of the proposed levels for these two Hillsborough County lakes.

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Information obtained at the workshop will be summarized and made available to the Governing Board. District staff anticipates presenting the proposed levels for Lakes Rogers and Raleigh at the June 25 Governing Board meeting, where the Governing Board may choose to recommend adoption of the minimum and guidance levels into District rules. Governing Board meetings are open to the public and brief oral comments are permitted on meeting agenda items.

Written comments are also welcome and can be submitted via mail or email to

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Keith Kolasa, senior environmental scientist, at 2379 Broad Street, Brooksville, FL 34604-6899 or Keith.Kolasa@watermatters.org.

Draft reports summarizing the proposed Minimum and Guidance levels for these lakes will be made available for review one week prior to the workshop and will be posted on the District’s Internet site at http://WaterMatters.org/MFLreports, under the Proposed Minimum & Guidance Lake Levels section. In addition, digital copies of the draft reports will be made available at the workshop. For more information, please contact Keith Kolasa at 1-800-423-1476, ext. 4236.

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