The St. Johns River Water Management District has issued a Modified Phase II Severe Water Shortage for portions of northeast and central Florida due to continued limited rainfall and declining water levels.
The Modified Phase II declaration applies to:
- Portions of Baker, Bradford and Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam, and St. Johns counties within the District
- Portions of Alachua County within the District, excluding unincorporated areas overseen by the Suwannee River Water Management District
- Portions of Marion County within the District, the City of Ocala and unincorporated areas of Marion County, excluding areas overseen by the Southwest Florida Water Management District
District staff evaluated rainfall totals, groundwater levels, river flows and current drought conditions before recommending the action. Recent precipitation deficits across the region have resulted in continued declines in groundwater levels and reduced surface water flows. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the entire region is classified as being in extreme drought.
The District is exercising caution ahead of the start of Daylight-Saving Time on March 8, when landscape irrigation schedules would normally shift to two days per week. Given current dry conditions, the Modified Phase II Severe Water Shortage limits landscape irrigation to one day per week to reduce demand and help stabilize water resources.
Under a Modified Phase II Severe Water Shortage, all water users are encouraged to voluntarily reduce water use and conserve water to the maximum extent possible. Wasteful and unnecessary water use is prohibited. Water users are also encouraged to proactively plan for extended dry conditions, and the potential for additional mandatory restrictions should the water shortage advance to a more severe phase.
The order encourages voluntary reductions across all water use sectors, including public supply, commercial, industrial, institutional, agricultural, landscape, recreation and aesthetic uses. Property owners and managers are encouraged to prepare for possible worsening conditions.
The District’s Water Shortage Plan allows for additional restrictions if conditions continue to deteriorate. The declaration also delegates authority to the executive director to expand water shortage declarations if needed.
For more information on water conservation and current conditions, visit sjrwmd.com.
Joe_H says
And, does this include the companies that are bottling water from our springs? How much water do they suck up every day?
tulip says
I totally agree with your comment
JimboXYZ says
Much needed rain falling Sunday March 8th.
Dennis C Rathsam says
Thanks to the morons, whom developed P/C to the point of emptey faucets! The roads cant handle all these people, the stores cant handle it either…. and now there’s not enough water…. Still the fools in City Hall want to bring a water wasting cement plant here! What the hell are these folks smoking?
exasperated says
And all these fools you speak of are Republicans, but don’t be so hard on the locals. Florida has been controlled by Republicans for over 25 year and during that time they have allowed this to happen.
Laurel says
How about a restriction on building and blacktops?
Mothersworry says
You mean a moratorium on residential building? If some board would cite a water shortage as grounds, then maybe if enough support was gathered, who knows.
Thinking about it, a water shortage might dissuade prospective buyers to look elsewhere.
Rudy Schmidt says
Wait…
I thought the moratorium people wanted to stop construction last time because there was too much rain.
“Moratorium” is also your answer to not enough rain?
If “moratorium” is your answer to everything, do you actually care if it solves anything? I don’t think so.
Many of the familiar “moratorium” faces are vehemently upset by anything they cannot control, and yet can barely control their own emotions. Instead of calmly listening to reason or seeking wisdom, they attempt to satisfy their nagging dissatisfaction with vitriol (e.g. previous comment: “morons”) and by exerting control over others (e.g. “moratorium”). Palm Coast has an entire industry held hostage by people whose deep unhappiness has nothing at all to do with construction. After they shutdown housing, they will simply swarm to their next victim.
Ironically, many of these personalities even came of age during the greatest development boom in human history, enjoyed prosperity and security that no other generation has ever known or will ever know, but are now complaining about stores having too many customers (@Dennis Rathsam).
Thus, I propose a moratorium on Palm Coast internet commenting. Exempt from this moratorium shall be: persons who have facts.
Thank you
X
Rudy
Andris F Duffy says
Are they still allowing Nestle to steel our water to fill plastic bottles for a profit?
tulip says
This would be a good time for a short term moratorium on new building. They could have it only as long as we are in a drought and, after plenty of rain, give the go ahead to build. Also, there are many people in Palm Coast that dont follow the rules of watering and I’ve seen people water on wrong day, wrong time and they water for hours whenever they want. Unfortunately, whoever manages code enforcement, doesn’t make his or her people go out there and start issuing tickets. If someone complains about about a person violating the rules,an exception should be made that they don’t have to identify themselves and, instead, send an enforcer out right away.
Laurel says
Sorry Tulip, but that won’t quite work. What if the next draught is worse, and subsequent draughts?