Tightened watering restrictions stemming from a drought that has gripped Tampa Bay for months will continue through Oct. 1, extending an order that would have expired July 1.
On Tuesday, the governing board for the Southwest Florida Water Management District approved prolonging the “Modified Phase III Extreme Water Shortage” order that began in April.
Under the order, residents can water one day per week within reduced hours, from 12:01 a.m. to 4 a.m. or after 8 p.m. to 11:59 p.m., unless a resident’s city or county has more restrictive hours in place. Properties less than an acre can use only one time window.
The water shortage is in effect for Pinellas, Pasco, Hillsborough, Hernando, Polk and Manatee counties, among other counties and cities.
While some drought conditions have improved over the past month, water officials said it was not enough to pull back restrictions.
“Now we are in the wet season, so we should see the rainfall picking up and helping,” said Tamera McBride, the district’s manager of hydrological data during the Tuesday meeting.
The region needs consistent rainfall, McBride said. Tampa Bay’s typical afternoon thunderstorms that often bring daily deluges should provide relief, she said.
Over the past few weeks, though, Tampa Bay has been in a beastly pattern of little rainfall and hot weather.
A consistently unfavorable wind direction has meant coastal areas of Tampa Bay have gone without afternoon storms.
Instead, Central Florida and the east coast have been on the receiving end of the downpours. More favorable conditions for storms near the Gulf coast could come around Friday and stay into the weekend, said Stephen Shiveley, a meteorologist for Tampa Bay’s weather service.
If rainfall across the region becomes more consistent and public water supply improves, the district could rescind the order before October, said April Breton, the district’s water use permit bureau chief.
Across the district’s counties, drought conditions ranged from “extremely abnormal” to “moderately abnormal,” according to the district. District-wide, rainfall was about 11 inches below average as of May, McBride said.
Extending the water shortage order ensures the availability of water during dry conditions, the district said in its meeting agenda notes.
May closed out the official end of Tampa Bay’s eight-month dry season.
Drought conditions across Florida, including in parts of Tampa Bay, have improved slightly as of mid-June. However, all of Pinellas and much of Hillsborough County remains under extreme drought conditions.
Rivers, lakes and ponds continue to struggle under the parched conditions.
For example, the Withlacoochee River’s water flow is “exceptionally low” in some spots. In other spots, the river has no flowing water, and it’s leading to algae blooms, water officials said.
Other ponds and lakes have dried up across the region, the weather service said in a mid-June drought update.
The National Weather Service said vegetation is quick to suck up rainfall during the region’s hot summers, and water is rapidly being used by plants. However, as rain falls more regularly, forecasters expect the drought to wane.
The past week has plunged Florida and Tampa Bay into the depths of summer. Central Florida was under multiple heat advisories last week when the feel-like temperaturecould reach up to 110 degrees.
Forecasters expect the days will remain hot over the next week. Highs will top out in the mid-90s and the heat index — a mix of temperature and humidity — could soar to around 107 degrees, just a touch away from triggering more advisories.
The drought, while painful, is not the worst that Tampa Bay has experienced. The most intense wasin 2000 and 2001, when the region was under an “exceptional drought,” the highest level.
A July outlook from the Climate Prediction Center showed Florida had equal chances of above- or below-normal rainfall. The weather service anticipates the drought will improve over the next three months.
“We have likely now seen the worst of the drought conditions, at least until the dry season returns,” the weather service said.
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