About the Atlas

The people and organizations who make the Polk County Water Atlas possible.

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
    • Gregory Knothe
  • 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

  • Jan Allyn, BS, Web Content Manager
  • Jennifer Baker, BS, Database Developer
  • Keith Bornhorst, BS, Web Development Team Leader
  • Ruth Costley, BS, Senior GIS Analyst
  • David Eilers, BS, Field Scientist - Environmental
  • Claude Kershaw, MS, Senior Database Applications Developer
  • Jayden Mohacsi, BS, Applications 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

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