Tag: stormwater

Protecting Your Community: Hurricane-Ready Landscape Tips, Rain Season, Tropical Season.

by Michael J. Masucci
May 19, 2026

As summer ends, Hillsborough County should prepare for peak hurricane season. Historical data from 1944 to 2020 shows a sharp rise in storm activity after August, peaking through September and October. The graph below highlights this trend, ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Lawn
Tags: Community, Conservation, Disaster Preparation, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Hillsborough, Landscaping, Rain, Stormwater, Tropical, Water & Sewer, Weather
An image of a stormwater pond in a residential area.

Survey shows most homeowners don’t understand the two key jobs of stormwater ponds

by Brad Buck
May 19, 2026

More than 76,000 stormwater ponds are woven into Florida neighborhoods. Yet beneath their calm surfaces, these ponds are quietly struggling. Many are overloaded with excess nutrients, fueling algal blooms and degrading water quality. At the ... READ MORE

Category: Home Landscapes, Natural Resources, UF/IFAS, Water
Tags: Aesthetics, Buffer Zone, Ecosystems, Filter, Flooding, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Food And Resource Economics, Hayk Khachatryan, Homeowners, Homeowners Associations, Knowledge, Michelle Atkinson, Mid-Florida Research And Education Center, Nutrients, Residential Neighborhood, Residents, Stormwater, Stormwater Ponds, UF/IFAS Extension Manatee County, Water, Water Quality

UF/IFAS hosts virtual Urban Landscape Summit, starting January 20

by Brad Buck
May 19, 2026

WHO: Faculty and administrators from the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), along with landscape industry professionals. WHAT: Scott Angle, UF vice president for agriculture and natural resources ... READ MORE

Category: Home Landscapes, SFYL Hot Topic
Tags: Birds, Fertilizers, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Scott Angle, Stormwater, Turf, Urban Landscape Summit, Water
A white boat moving through turquoise water under a clear sky with a distant shoreline in the background.

UF research aims to help reduce nitrogen flow into Tampa Bay

by Brad Buck
May 19, 2026

Not all algal blooms are harmful, but Amanda Muni-Morgan hopes to eventually mitigate the impacts of nutrients going into Tampa Bay. Those nutrients – often brought to the estuary by stormwater runoff -- can fuel a harmful algal bloom. As ... READ MORE

Category: Coasts & Marine, Natural Resources
Tags: Amanda Muni-Morgan, College Of Agricultural And Life Sciences, Gulf Coast Research And Education Center, Harmful Algal Blooms, Karenia Brevis, Mary Lusk, Mote Marine Laboratory, Nutrients, Soil Water And Ecosystem Sciences, Stormwater, Tampa Bay
A hand holding a small glass vial with a pond of lily pads in the background.

UF/IFAS plants flora to try to reduce pollutants going into lakes, rivers

by Brad Buck
May 19, 2026

BRADENTON, Fla. --- Now, in the middle of summer, when those afternoon or evening rains come, stormwater from lawns, driveways and roofs drains down to any of the 76,000 stormwater ponds scattered around Florida. As stormwater flows into ... READ MORE

Category: Lawn, Water
Tags: Absorb, Basil Iannone, Best Management Practices, Lakes, Lawns, Manatee County, Nitrogen, Nutrients, Paul Monaghan, Phosphorus, Plants, Rivers, School Of Forest Fisheries And Geomatics Sciences, Stormwater, Stormwater Ponds, Urban Landscape Ecology
Flooding on Las Olas, FL/king tide that brings salt water to the streets.

Scientists will use $1M grant to build a support system addressing sea level rise and flooding in South Florida

by Lourdes Mederos
May 19, 2026

A team of University of Florida scientists has been awarded a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to tackle one of South Florida’s most urgent environmental threats: groundwater flooding and saltwater intrusion caused ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Conservation, Crops, Disaster Preparation, Farm Management, Forests, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Natural Resources, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research, Water
Tags: Agricultural And Biological Engineering, Ashley Smith, Biochemistry, Conservation, Eban Bean, Edward Evans, Flood, Flood Mitigation, Flood Risk, Food And Resource Economics, Grant, Green Infrastructures, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, Mangrove Restoration, Miami, National Science Foundation, News, Rain Gardens, Saltwater Intrusion, Sea Level Rise, Soil And Water Sciences, Soil Sciences, Southeast Florida, Stormwater, Stormwater Runoff, Tropical Research And Education Center, UF-IFAS, University Of Florida, Young Gu Her, Zachary Brym
A hand holding a small glass vial with a pond of lily pads in the background.

Natural ponds remove nitrogen more effectively than stormwater ponds

by Brad Buck
May 19, 2026

Summer brings daily storms in the Sunshine State, and with the rain, you need to control flooding in some neighborhoods. Florida is swimming in 76,000 stormwater ponds. Designed to control flooding, stormwater ponds are not as effective as ... READ MORE

Category: Conservation, UF/IFAS, Water
Tags: AJ Reisinger, Audrey Goekner, Denitrification, Dinitrogen Gas, Ecosystems, Flooding, Natural Ponds, Neighborhoods, Nitrogen, Nitrogen Fixation, Pollutants, Soil Water And Ecosystem Sciences, Stormwater, Stormwater Ponds, Subdivisions
A hand holding a small glass vial with a pond of lily pads in the background.

UF study: Stormwater ponds do little to prevent pollution in nearby lakes and ponds

by Brad Buck
May 19, 2026

For years, scientists questioned the ability of stormwater ponds to keep nutrients out of lakes and rivers. Turns out, they were right to be suspicious, new University of Florida research shows. Stormwater ponds are built to prevent soil ... READ MORE

Category: UF/IFAS
Tags: Basil Iannone, BMPs, Depressional Wetlands, Kayla Hess, Lakes, Mowing, Nitrogen, Nutrients, Phosphorus, Rain, Retention Ponds, Rivers, Stormwater, Stormwater Ponds, Urban, Urban Ecology

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