Lake Wailes Minimum Levels Before the Board Oct. 27; Algae Alert on Lake Thonotosassa

The Southwest Florida Water Management District's Governing Board takes up revised minimum levels for Lake Wailes on Oct. 27 at 9 a.m. at 2379 Broad Street in Brooksville. Online comments closed Oct. 9 and rulemaking begins Oct. 28; public input at the board meeting is taken only at the meeting location.

Item 4.2 asks the board to initiate rulemaking to amend Rule 40D-8.624, Florida Administrative Code, and accept the final draft report. Staff propose lowering the Minimum Lake Level on the roughly 300-acre closed-basin lake just east of downtown Lake Wales from 104.8 to 102.1 feet NGVD29 — the elevation the lake must equal or exceed 50% of the time — and the High Minimum Lake Level from 107.7 to 106.3 feet. Levels were last set in 2015. The draft report says both proposed levels are currently met and projects they will keep being met over the next two decades.

Coming Up

The Xtreme Bass Series' 2027 Harris Chain Division opens Jan. 23 at Buzzard Beach, trimmed from nine events to seven, with entry at $160 per team and a three-fish limit replacing the five-fish bag.

Worth Knowing

The Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County has issued a health alert for the presence of harmful blue-green algae toxins in Lake Thonotosassa, in response to a water sample taken on October 12. Do not swim, wade or use personal watercraft where a bloom is visible, and keep pets out.

Lake County announced completion of the Ferndale Preserve project on Oct. 7 on Lake Apopka's western shore: a fishing pier extending approximately 80 feet from the multi-use trail, a 16-by-16-foot two-level observation tower, and a canoe and kayak launch.

SWFWMD's one closed recreation site is the Green Swamp West Tract at 13347 Ranch Road in Dade City, shut for hunting 10/20/2026 - 10/23/2026.

Watering stays at one day per week. SWFWMD's Modified Phase III restrictions run through March 31, 2027 and cover all of Hardee, Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco and Polk, plus parts of Highlands and Lake; the district puts its 12-month rainfall deficit through August 2026 at 15.4 inches. The St. Johns district's Phase III Extreme Water Shortage also holds, with irrigation prohibited between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Its Oct. 14 report put September rainfall at 5.30 inches districtwide, 1.44 inches below the monthly average. Districtwide groundwater levels sat in the 8th percentile for September.