The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) has issued a mandatory water shortage order for the Lake Okeechobee Service Area, which comprises the Everglades Agricultural Area, and parts of Hendry, Glades, Okeechobee, Palm Beach and Martin Counties.

o At present, the water level in Lake Okeechobee is more than 3.5 feet lower than what is considered normal for this time of year
o Water levels across the District remain troublingly low
o Agricultural permit holders will be notified personally of restrictions pertaining to this order
o Residential water users will be asked to limit irrigation times to three days per week, four hours per day; residents also will be asked to wash their vehicles within these specific times
o Residential users are also expected to observe normal water conservation practices within the home

The SFWMD also has issued a water shortage warning for the District’s Lower East Coast, comprised of Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties. This warning is a call for area residents and agricultural water users to voluntarily reduce water consumption as a preemptive measure to avoid or forestall potential water shortage orders and mandatory water restrictions later in the dry season.

South Florida residents are asked to voluntarily limit the frequency of irrigation and reduce such wasteful water habits as taking long showers or allowing leaky fixtures to remain in disrepair.

o Irrigation is where we can cut back the most: Fifty percent of all potable (drinkable) water winds up on our lawns
o Our lawns don’t need that much water during the dry season, particularly this year, as cooler dry season conditions are expected to result in less water lost to evaporation and transpiration through plants
o Residents should not need to water their lawns more than once a week if there is no rain – or not at all in weeks when it does rain
o Residents should begin to condition their landscapes for drier and cooler conditions by watering only when necessary and not on a regular “time clock” basis
o We are asking residents to observe basic conservation practices within the home, such as taking shorter showers, washing full loads in dishwashers and clothes washers, and reducing excessive toilet flushing such as may be associated with the disposal of facial tissues and insects

The South Florida Water Management District has recorded near record-low rainfall through the first 10 months of 2006.

o At 1.05 inches of District-wide rainfall for the entire month, October 2006 was the third driest on record since 1932
o The first 10 months of 2006 have been the second driest on record, leaving many areas of the District in 1-in-25-year dry spells
o District-wide, we are about 10” below normal rainfall for 2006

District scientists and meteorologists anticipate that even a wetter than normal dry season may not prevent the District from implementing mandatory water restrictions in other areas of the District.

o Some long range forecasts predict dry to slightly wetter than normal dry season conditions for the coming months – perhaps resulting in an extra 2-7 inches of rain over the course of the dry season – but there are of course no guarantees. Even rainfall on the higher end of this range may not be enough to raise water levels above what we would consider sufficient to meet dry season demands.

The South Florida Water Management District continues to monitor water levels throughout the District daily and is working diligently to avoid additional water shortage orders. However, we are proactively planning in the event more aggressive action must be taken.