For the 22nd consecutive year, Tampa Bay Water’s board of directors approved funding for the Pinellas, Pasco and Hillsborough county Florida-Friendly Landscaping (FFL) program. Tampa Bay Water will provide $443,668 to the program, whose goal is to foster a sense of environmental stewardship among citizens by increasing awareness of natural systems and resources, and how they relate to ecology, economy and quality of life.

Unless you have a water-front home, you may not realize that your lawn maintenance can impact Tampa Bay, its estuarine system and even your drinking water. That’s because all of Florida’s water, the aquifer beneath us, lakes, streams, springs, rivers and ponds, is interconnected in an intricate network. What we do on land can have far-reaching and long-lasting consequences.

August is National Water Quality Month, so it’s a good time to think about what comes out of your tap. Pure, clean drinking water is there at your command, but have you ever thought about where it comes from?