The Polk County Water Atlas is designed to provide citizens, scientists, professionals, and planners with comprehensive and current water quality, hydrologic, and ecological data, as well as information about recreational opportunities and a library of scientific and educational materials on water resource issues. Typically, the scientists and citizens who live and work on water resources have found it difficult to gather the information they need from the myriad of agencies that collect the related data. To solve this problem, we conceived of the Atlas as a "one stop information shop" for concerned citizens and scientists alike. The Atlas functions as a warehouse for a variety of water resources information, including documents and educational links. We have also strived to make the Atlas a rich resource that educates citizens about the data presented and gives scientists easy access to the specialized information they need. We encourage you to use the Atlas as a tool to help in maintaining and improving our vital water resources.
Project Funding
Information Providers
- City of Lakeland, Lakes and Stormwater Division, Lakes & Stormwater
- City of Winter Haven
- Environmental Protection Agency, Western Ecology Division, Gulf Ecosystem Measurement & Modeling Division
- Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County, Water Division
- FDEP Central Regional Operations Center, Division of Environmental Assessment and Restoration
- FDEP Southeast Regional Operations Center, Division of Environmental Assessment and Restoration
- FDEP Southwest Regional Operations Center, Division of Environmental Assessment and Restoration
- Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Biological Research Associates , Watershed Monitoring, Watershed Assessment Section
- Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, Eustis Field Office
- Florida LAKEWATCH, Univ. Fla. Department of Fisheries & Aquatic Sciences
- Florida Natural Areas Inventory, GIS Division
- Hillsborough County Environmental Protection Commission
- Hillsborough County Stream Waterwatch, Hillsborough County Stream Waterwatch Program, Stormwater Division
- IMC Agrico (Mosaic Fertilizer LLC)
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service, Aviation Center Data Management
- No Specific Agency, None, None, None
- Polk County, Natural Resources Division, Mapping and GIS
- South Florida Water Management District, Chemistry Lab, Geographic Information Systems
- Southwest Florida Water Management District, Hydrologic Data Section, Data Collection Bureau
- St. Johns River Water Management District, Bureau of Water Resource Information, Watershed Action Volunteers, Surface Water Quality Monitoring
- U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau
- University of Florida, IFAS Extension, Florida Automated Weather Network
- University of South Florida Water Institute, GIS Team, Water Atlas Program
- US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds
- USF Water Institute Assessments, Lake and Stream Assessments
- USGS National Water Information System, Caribbean-Florida Water Science Center
Project Partners
Polk County Water Atlas
- Polk County
- Tabitha Biehl
- Diane Gibson
- Ryan Ellis
- City of Lakeland
- Laurie Smith
- City of Winter Haven
- Mike Britt
University of South Florida Water Institute
Faculty
- Shawn Landry, PhD, Program Director, Research Associate Professor
- Kai Rains, PhD, Research Associate Professor
Staff
- Keith Bornhorst, BS, Web Applications Developer
- Ruth Costley, BS, Senior GIS Analyst
- David Eilers, BS, Field Scientist - Environmental
- Claude Kershaw, MS, Senior Database Applications Developer
- Jayden Mohacsi, BS, Applications Developer
- Jennifer Negron, BS, Database Developer
- Jason Scolaro, MS, Database Applications Developer
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to all the wonderful people who have participated in the process of designing and developing the Polk County Water Atlas.
Water Atlas Program Advisory Group
Special thanks to the following group of individuals who have helped to guide the long-term development of the Water Atlas Program (www.wateratlas.org) by participating in the Water Atlas Advisory Group.
Participant |
Organization |
|---|---|
| Jennifer Aragon | Hillsborough County |
| Lisa Beever, Ph.D. | Coastal & Heartland National Estuary Partnership |
| Greg Blanchard | Manatee County |
| Julie Bortles | Orange County |
| Mike Britt | City of Winter Haven |
| Rob Brown | Manatee County |
| Maya Burke | Tampa Bay Estuary Program |
| Michael Carnevale | City of Winter Haven |
| Marcia Anderson Clark | Orange County |
| Lindsay Cross | Tampa Bay Estuary Program |
| Amanda Dominguez | Sarasota County |
| Liz Donley | Coastal & Heartland National Estuary Partnership |
| Gloria Eby | Seminole County |
| Ben Garcia | Lake County Water Authority |
| Holly Greening | Tampa Bay Estuary Program |
| Jim Griffin | Florida Center for Community Design and Research |
| Melissa Harrison | Pinellas County |
| Jennifer Hecker | Coastal & Heartland National Estuary Partnership |
| Marie Lackey | Seminole County |
| Shawn Landry | USF Water Institute |
| Kelli Levy | Pinellas County |
| Sarah Malone | City of Lakeland |
| John McGee | Hillsborough County |
| Kathryn Meaux | Sarasota County |
| Ashley Melton | Sarasota County |
| Jack Merriam | Sarasota County |
| Kim Ornberg | Seminole County |
| Michael Perry | Lake County Water Authority |
| Jon Perry | Sarasota County |
| John Ryan | Sarasota County |
| Laura Thorne | Hillsborough County Environmental Protection Commission |
| Melanie Weed | Pinellas County |
| Kelly Westover | Sarasota County |
| Shannon Wetzel | Seminole County |