South Florida Water Managers Keeping Close Eye On Dry Conditions

Posted by Paul Rusnak|July 15, 2015

South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) officials have begun ramping up planning to manage worsening drought conditions.

Planning efforts include:

Assembling SFWMD teams with specialized expertise in drought management
Increasing review of salinity levels in coastal monitor wells and of utility data
Enhancing outreach to communicate current water conservation measures, including year-round landscape irrigation measures that have been in place in South Florida for several years. Click here to view watering rules by county. There is no change in the rules at this time.

South Florida’s wet season has produced only 73% of average Districtwide rainfall to date. This represents a 2.92 inch deficit across 16 counties. Miami-Dade and Broward counties experienced the largest rainfall deficits in South Florida. Broward County received only 2.61 inches of rain, representing 23% of average, or a deficit of 8.70 inches. Miami-Dade received only 4.62 inches of rain, representing 39% of average, or a deficit of 7.08 inches. As a result, parts along the coastline in Broward and Miami-Dade are now listed by the U.S. Drought Monitor as being in “extreme drought” conditions.

Lake Okeechobee stood at 12.05 feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) as of this posting. According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, federal water managers prefer to maintain water levels between 12.5 feet and 15.5 feet NGVD to help balance competing demands such as public safety, water supply, and environmental health.