JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The St. Johns River Water Management District expanded its “moderate water shortage” list this week, adding more Northeast Florida counties as local water levels continue to plummet amid a significant dry spell.
Nassau, Clay, St. Johns, and Putnam counties now join Baker, Bradford, and Duval in a Phase One water shortage. While the district is currently only asking for voluntary conservation, officials warn that mandatory rules are just around the corner if the region doesn’t see significant rainfall.
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According to Clay Coarsey, director of the district’s division of water supply planning and assessment, the region is facing a nearly 12-inch rainfall deficit.
“We typically see roughly 50 inches of rainfall,” Coarsey said. “Right now, a lot of the area is in the mid-30s—between 35 to 38 inches.”
Coarsey noted that mandatory restrictions could be enacted within the next week or two, which would likely slash allowable lawn irrigation from two days a week down to just one day a week.
Local business owners are already preparing. In Yulee, Lindsay Pickard has spent the last three years building Amelia’s Native Wildflowers. For her, water isn’t just a utility—it’s the lifeblood of her inventory.
“We water about twice a week for 20 minutes or so,” Pickard said.
To stay ahead of the drought, Pickard is turning to rain buckets to catch whatever falls from the sky and has begun a rigorous mulching program for her nursery stock.
“I’m adding about a good inch or so of thick mulch,” she explained. “That helps suppress weeds, but more importantly, it keeps the moisture in the pots during a time like this.”
Water management officials say the public can play a massive role in delaying or avoiding mandatory cutbacks by making small changes at home, like checking sprinklers to see if their system has leaks or broken seals that waste water. As well as running dishwashers and washing machines only when they are completely full.
As the ground continues to dry up, all eyes remain on the sky. Without a “meaningful” storm system in the immediate forecast, the voluntary “ask” for conservation will likely become a requirement soon.
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