NEWS PRESS
May 02, 2007

 

 

Dry state worsens
While drought impacts most of Florida, local water restrictions unlikely to be tightened — yet

By Joel Moroney jmoroney@news-press.com

http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200770502001

 

Southwest Florida is not likely to be among the areas targeted for tougher water restrictions when the South Florida Water Management District’s governing board meets next week. But while standing on a 50-yard-long dock that no longer reaches the receding waters of Lake Okeechobee, district officials said it could be months — if not years —before South Florida recovers from a record drought.

“This drought is affecting almost all of the state of Florida,” said Chip Merriam, the district’s executive deputy director of water resources. Merriam said the governing board could consider isolated Phase III restrictions for several east coast communities when it meets May 9 and 10.

Those restrictions are designed to save 45 percent of water consumption instead of the 30 percent restrictions in place for much of South Florida. But stabilizing groundwater levels in Lee County, which remain near record lows, should permit water managers to continue working with local officials to enforce the twice-a-week watering restrictions put in place April 13.

“Right now I don’t think we are planning a Phase III” on the west coast, Merriam said. “But the more you can conserve, the less the chances of going to a Phase III.”

Phase III cuts lawn watering to one day a week.

Lee Werst, a water manager with Lee County, said underground water levels in Lehigh Acres have rebounded several feet. The area is one of the county’s most critical because of the abundance of shallow private wells.

“We manage against the resources, and things are relatively stable at this point,” Merriam said.

April showers helped

NBC-2 Chief Meteorologist Robert Van Winkle said an above-average amount of rain fell on the area in April, typically the driest month. Lee County got 2 inches of rain, compared with an average of 1.67. Rainfall remains 5.5 inches behind for the year.

Van Winkle said afternoon showers this week are a sign the summer rainy season is just around the corner — although it does not officially begin until June 18. “They will be hit and miss,” he said of the showers. “Not everyone will get them, but it is a precursor to changing into summer weather.”

And lightning strikes at the beginning of rainy season could bring increased wildfire danger, said Ben Nelson, state meteorologist with the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

The area remains so dry a brush fire Sunday spread from 15 to more than 800 acres in Lehigh Acres in a matter of hours. The blaze destroyed two homes and required more than 200 firefighters and other emergency personnel to contain it.

“Folks need to be fire-wise,” Nelson said, “and we all need to do our part to conserve the water until the rains come.”

Getting his sprinklers in line with the restrictions is something Dennis Roussey, 73, of North Naples, has been meaning to accomplish. “It’s a matter of getting off my rear end and doing what I need to do,” said Roussey, acknowledging people could do more to conserve.

“Including me,” he said. “I think it’s very serious.”

Lee County residents are cutting back water use if the first two weeks of tougher watering restrictions are an indication.

Lee County reported using 29.4 million gallons of water Thursday, compared to 36.5 million gallons April 1. Cape Coral reported a 10 million-gallon-per-day reduction in irrigation water, from about 42 million gallons to 32 million gallons per day. Bonita Springs reported a reduction of about 2.5 million gallons to an average daily use of about 10 million gallons.

Lake O has its limits

Four locks closed in the northern part of the lake last week. And while the Okeechobee Waterway, which connects the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers, remains open to boat traffic, it is operating on a limited schedule to limit water leaving the lake.

Lake Okeechobee is a critical supply of drinking water for the lower east coast. But at its current level of 9.65 feet, it is too shallow to provide water for drinking and agriculture.

Fourteen submersible pumps have kept the water trickling into surrounding canals. Later this month, the lake is expected to surpass its all-time low of 8.97 feet, set in May 2001 during the last drought.

“It’s very low,” said Al Linder, 71, an Okeechobee resident who walks his dogs on the dock. The dock now stretches over cracked earth and stops near the water’s edge, where it overlooks an island of grass that’s usually submerged. “The water is usually into shore, but now it’s almost gone,” Linder said.

La Niña worrisome

 

Nelson, the state meteorologist, said a drier-than-normal rainy season could take years to overcome. “Statewide, Florida is experiencing one of its driest seasons on record since 1895, and it’s possible that the summer rainy season won’t bring enough water to end the drought,” he said.

 

The fear is a La Niña event this summer — last seen during the 2001 drought — will prevent summer storms from reaching Florida. La Niña occurs when cooler Pacific Ocean waters force the jet stream and its storms north.


“La Niña typically means drought in
Florida,” Nelson said.