As Florida’s extreme drought continues, water restrictions have tightened further under the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Modified Phase III Extreme Water Shortage Plan, which was announced Tuesday.

The new restrictions affect a range of day-to-day life, from lawn watering to dining at restaurants.

The state is facing one of its driest periods in decades, with many areas expecting little or no rain in the coming weeks as Florida moves into its rainy season, AccuWeather said. This is taxing limited water supplies and fueling wildfires across the state.

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More than 72 percent of Florida is experiencing Level 3 (extreme) or Level 4 (exceptional) drought, the two most severe categories, according to the United States Drought Monitor.

“The current drought is rivaling that of the period from 1998 to 2002,” Dan DePodwin, AccuWeather’s vice president of forecast operations, said. “There are about 8 million more people in Florida now than around the start of the new millennium, putting additional strain on available water supplies.”

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The region received below-average rainfall last summer, which is typically a rainy season, and currently has a 13.7-inch regional rainfall deficit compared to the average 12-month total, according to the SWFMD website.

The district’s water resources, including aquifers, rivers and lakes, continue to see declining water levels, and many are abnormally low, the agency said.

Tampa Bay Water, the region’s nonprofit wholesale water supplier, triggered a Stage 3 Extreme Regional Supply Shortage as of March 1 because of significant rainfall and river flow deficits, as well as projected low regional reservoir levels.

Water from rivers makes up more than 40 percent of the region’s drinking water supply, particularly the Alafia River, the agency said. Because of current drought conditions, river water isn’t being used as a water source.

“We are not taking anything from local rivers,” Warren Hogg, chief science officer for Tampa Bay Water, said, according to WUSF. “Flows are so low we can’t take any water for the region, for our system. All the water we use in our surface water plant now is from the regional reservoir.”

The new Modified Phase III water shortage restrictions put in place by SFWMD are in effect April 3 through July 1.

They apply to all of Citrus, DeSoto, Hardee, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota and Sumter counties; portions of Charlotte, Highlands and Lake counties; the cities of Dunnellon and The Villages in Marion County; and the portion of Gasparilla Island in Charlotte County.

Lawn Watering

The one-day-per-week lawn watering restrictions that went into effect in February, now have stricter watering hours.

Unless a city or county already has stricter hours in place, watering hours are reduced to 12:01 to 4 a.m. or 8 to 11:59 p.m. on a property’s scheduled day for watering, SFWMD said.

Properties less than 1 acre may only use one of these windows.

Here is the SWFMD standard watering schedule based on addresses ending in:

0 or 1, only water on Monday 2 or 3, only water on Tuesday 4 or 5, only water on Wednesday 6 or 7, only water on Thursday 8 or 9, as well as locations with a mix of addresses or for which an address can’t be determined, such as common areas associated with a subdivision, only water on Friday

Low-volume watering (micro-irrigation, soaker hoses, hand watering) of plants and shrubs (not lawns) is still allowed on any day but only before 8 a.m. or after 6 p.m.

“Outdoor water use accounts for more than 50 percent of water consumed by households and residents should know and follow their local watering restrictions as well as conserve water wherever possible,” SFWMD said. Residents should also check with their city or county for local restrictions.

Fountains, Car Washing and Pressure Washing

Pressure washing in preparation for painting and sealing is allowed.

No homeowners association or other entity can enforce deed restrictions or other community standards requiring an increase in water use, including replacement of plant material to meet aesthetic standards or pressure washing.

Non-commercial car washing at home is only allowed on that property’s lawn watering day, and a hose with a shutoff nozzle must be used.

Aesthetic fountain use is now limited to four hours a day. The regular hours of operation can be selected by the owner but must be posted.

Restaurants

Under the updated restrictions, restaurants are limited in how much water they may serve diners. They may only serve water upon request.

Public Water Supply Utility Requirements

The modified order also requires local utilities to continue implementing water conservation efforts, including customer education about the current water shortage and ways to conserve water.

Water utilities and other local enforcement officials must increase their enforcement efforts, including responding to citizen complaints and monitoring water use through patrols or customer records.

Starting 14 days after the effective date of the water shortage order, utilities and other local enforcement officials are to issue citations first without issuing a warning.

Emergency Orders

The district is monitoring the region’s drought conditions and working with water supply partners Tampa Bay Water and the Peace River Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority.
The district also issued three emergency orders on March 19:

An emergency order was issued to Tampa Bay Water to lower the Middle Pool of the Tampa Bypass Canal from 12 feet to 10 feet to continue augmenting the city of Tampa’s Hillsborough River Reservoir. The order expires July 1. An emergency order was issued to the Peace River Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority to modify its diversion schedule to allow increased withdrawals from the Peace River. The order expires May 31. An emergency order was issued to the city of Punta Gorda to temporarily withdraw up to an additional 2.2 million gallons per day from Shell Creek to provide to the Peace River Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority. The order expires July 1.

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