ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — The St. Johns River Water Management District announced stricter water usage restrictions for some Northeast Florida counties.
This is in response to ongoing drought conditions, and it comes even after the recent rains.
“This week we’ve had five to six inches of rain in some neighborhoods. So that’s good news, but it still would take about 25 inches in a three-month span to kind of get us out of that drought here with the recent rainfall that we’ve seen,” said Action News Jax First Alert Meteorologist Garrett Bedenbaugh.
Some of the new restrictions include:
- Irrigation for golf courses’ fairways limited to one day per week
- Landscape irrigation is prohibited between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.
- Commercial, industrial, & institutional users must suspend certain non-essential water uses.
- Aesthetic water use is prohibited
- Assigned watering days for residents to water plants
“It is critically important for people to be able to follow these rules right now,” said Clay Coarsey, St. Johns River Water Management District Director of Water Supply and Assessment.
Coarsey says the water use restrictions are meant to preserve the water in the aquifer until the rainy season kicks in.
“We have groundwater levels that are below the 10th percentile, which means that over 90% of the time, we would have been seeing groundwater levels higher than what we’re experiencing now,” said Coarsey. “It’s really important for us to do our part.”
We asked Coarsey if he expects to enhance the water shortage restrictions again. He says it’s all dependent on the rain we get next month.
For more information, click here.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
