Water restrictions from the Southwest Florida Water Management District take effect Friday in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties. Tampa also is imposing new rules Friday. ...more

April 2, 2009

As of Friday, the Tampa Bay area will have its toughest-ever water restrictions, courtesy of Tuesday's unanimous vote by the Southwest Florida Water Management District's governing board. ...more

March 31, 2009

With rivers gurgling to a trickle and the desalination plant limping because of mechanical problems, water suppliers are turning up the pumps to tap groundwater at a rate not seen since 2002. ...more

March 18, 2009

Florida has recorded twice as many wildfires this year compared with this time a year ago, and the danger increases every day. ...more

March 11, 2009

Florida has recorded twice as many wildfires as a year ago at this time and the danger increases every day. ...more

March 10, 2009

After Thursday afternoon's rain - which lasted minutes, not hours - Dave Fogler scraped his foot into the soil where a brush fire was still smoldering and quickly hit dry sand. The earth was damp for only a tenth of an inch, maybe two-tenths, he estimated, but the rain had been a godsend. ...more

February 20, 2009

The water management district will let utilities tap additional sources of water as a stubborn lack of rain continues to strain supplies. The Southwest Florida Water Management District has issued two emergency orders granting Tampa to take water from Sulphur Springs to augment its reservoir on the Hillsborough River and for Tampa Bay Water to expand its withdrawals from the Tampa Bypass Canal. ...more

February 16, 2009

Back in the 1990s, Judy Williams watched the lake in her backyard slowly disappear, a consequence of massive groundwater pumping. ...more

February 8, 2009

Pumping will increase slightly starting this month, peaking in May at 168 million gallons a day, according to projections. In ...more

February 3, 2009

Massive amounts of nitrogen flowing into area waterways need to be reduced, speakers at a Hillsborough County Environmental Protection Commission meeting said Thursday. ...more

January 16, 2009