West Palm Beach, FL
- February saw some scattered rainfall throughout South Florida, but rainfall continues to be well below average during this dry season. A total of 1.13 inches of rain fell District-wide in February, representing 56 percent of average, or 0.88 inches below average for the month.
On Thursday, SFWMD Governing Board members adopted a resolution urging all South Floridians, businesses and other water users to heighten water conservation efforts. All residents are urged to follow year-round landscape irrigation rules, which can be found at www.sfwmd.gov/mywateringdays. Those within the driest areas are encouraged to voluntarily cut back on irrigation, which can account for about half of residential water use. The main areas of concern for dry conditions include Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties, along with Charlotte, Lee and Collier counties.
"Water conservation is important all year, but especially now during the dry season to help sustain our regional water supply," said SFWMD Governing Board Chairman Dan O'Keefe. "With several more months left in the dry season, all residents, businesses and other water users can implement some easy steps to help conserve water."
Most of the rainfall this past month fell on Feb. 22, the single heaviest rainfall since October's Hurricane Matthew. The month of November was the driest since record keeping began in 1932.
SFWMD meteorologists reported this week that rainfall has been 46 percent of average from the start of the dry season in November to date. Only 3.77 inches fell District-wide, representing 46 percent of average, or 4.43 inches below average.
All basins in the 16-county area saw below average rainfall for the dry season to date:
- Southwest Coast: 41 percent of average
- Martin/St. Lucie: 43 percent of average
- Eastern Palm Beach: 50 percent of average
- Lake Okeechobee: 33 percent of average
Water managers are operating the system to save as much water as possible and will continue to make adjustments as needed. No additional water shortage rules are in place at this time.
