Tighter, mandatory watering restrictions are now in effect for parts of Central Florida due to ongoing drought conditions, according to the St. Johns River Water Management District.
In Central Florida, the district’s order declaring a Phase III Extreme water shortage applies to all of Flagler County, plus the areas it oversees in Lake and Marion counties. Other parts of Lake and Marion counties are overseen by the Southwest Florida Water Management District, which already declared an extreme water shortage for those areas, effective early last month.
The new declaration from St. Johns means all of Lake and Marion counties, plus all of Polk and Sumter counties are in an extreme water shortage.
Clay, Duval, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns counties, plus parts of Alachua County, also fall within the area with the extreme water shortage declared by St. Johns.
The other areas with restrictions in the Southwest Florida Water Management District are: all of Citrus, DeSoto, Hardee, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas and Sarasota counties; portions of Charlotte and Highlands counties; and the portion of Gasparilla Island in Charlotte County.
Why is this happening?
For the last three months, every part of Florida has been experiencing some level of drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a national map built by meteorologists and climatologists for tracking drought conditions. A new version of the map gets released every Thursday.
The latest map shows all of Marion County is in an “extreme drought,” the second-most severe level after “exceptional drought.” Much of the Florida Panhandle is in an exceptional drought.
Other parts of Central Florida currently experiencing “extreme drought” conditions include most of Volusia and Sumter counties, plus the northern half of Lake County.
Despite some recent showers in Central Florida, April marked the sixth consecutive month of below-average rainfall, according to the St. Johns River Water Management District. Over the last year, in the district’s 18-county coverage area, 13 counties recorded rainfall totals below their historical averages.
Most aquifer levels also declined during the month of April. Dry conditions have been triggering wildfire concerns, prompting some counties to implement burn bans.
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Central Florida would need to get between about 25 and 27 inches of rain, at minimum, over the next three months in order to improve extreme drought conditions currently affecting the region.
What are the restrictions?
Under the mandatory watering restrictions from St. Johns, residential lawn watering is limited to just once a week: either on Saturday or Sunday, depending on your address, and only between 6 p.m. and 8 a.m. If you haven't already done so, you should immediately reset your irrigation timer accordingly, according to the district.
Wasteful, unnecessary and aesthetic water use is prohibited during the Phase III Extreme Water Shortage.
The restrictions are meant to ease the strain on water resources now, while preparing for the possibility of stricter measures if conditions should get worse.
“The move to Phase III reflects the severity of current drought conditions and the need for immediate action to reduce water demand,” St. Johns River Water Management District Director of Water Supply and Assessment Clay Coarsey said in a statement.
Protecting water resources takes a collective effort between residents, businesses, agricultural operations and large water users, Coarsey said.
During the water shortage, irrigation systems may still occasionally operate in public spaces, like parks, medians and common areas. In many cases, those systems use reclaimed water: treated, recycled wastewater and stormwater used to reduce demand on potable groundwater supplies.
“While conservation remains important across all water sources, some reclaimed water systems must continue operating to maintain system function or manage storage capacity,” according to the district.
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More details about watering restrictions are available on the district’s website. Check here for more details on the restrictions for areas overseen by the Southwest Florida Water Management District.
