Sarasota and Manatee counties haven't seen much rain this month. And starting last Tuesday, conditions seemed to change overnight in Sarasota.
Record demand for water led some residents to use drinking water to keep their lawns green. This caused water outages and low pressure problems for anyone living north of Bee Ridge Road.
The next day, the county declared a drought emergency and urged residents to conserve water for the next week. The persistent dry weather and an increased chance of wildfires also led authorities to impose recreational burn bans across the region.
But the dry conditions didn't surprise forecaster Rodney Winn of the National Weather Service, who said that the area’s below average rainfall this year is uncommon but not extraordinary. Some relief might come as early as this weekend, he said. The region is expecting a 20% to 30% chance of rain starting on Sunday and lasting throughout the next week, a departure from the near zero daily chances that have prevailed for weeks.
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“For us to be two inches below average, that’s not a huge deal,” said Winn, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, referring to the rainfall deficit so far for May. “We can make that up in days or a couple of weeks with the right pattern set up over us.”
Almost the entire region of Southwest Florida, including parts of Pinellas, Charlotte and Lee counties have been abnormally dry, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
This month only a fraction of an inch of rain has been recorded at the National Weather Service gauge at the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, nearly two inches below normal for this time of year. Since January, the area has had almost nine inches of rain, about three inches below normal. May, typically one of the driest months of the year, accounts for nearly all of the area’s rainfall deficit for the calendar year, Winn said.
The deficit would be greater if not for a record 1.68 inches that fell April 11.
Starting Sunday, a weak front will drift in from the north, increasing moisture and chances of rain throughout next week.
According to the National Weather Service, the rainy season in some years begins abruptly while in others the wet weather arrives over time. Typically rainy season starts in mid to late May.
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“It’s pretty rare for us to be this dry at this time. That's why it’s unusual,” Winn said. “Give it a month’s time and we’ll forget all about this.”
Granville Kinsman, the manager of the hydrologic data section at the Southwest Florida Water Management District, is hopeful that the state will shift back to normal summertime rainy season pattern before water source levels see greater declines and further complicate demand on water supplies.
“Hopefully this is going to be a short-lived phenomenon and we’ll be able to get past this," Kinsman said.
Water systems across the state are being stressed by the higher demand for water caused by the dry conditions. Sarasota County saw a record demand for potable water at more than 31 million gallons on Tuesday. That's seven million gallons above average.
For Manatee County, which supplies Sarasota County with over half of its water, the increased demand is contributing to stress on a system already dealing with upgrades underway at the Lake Manatee Water Treatment Plant. Manatee has also asked residents to conserve water.
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As a result of problems in Manatee, Sarasota increased the amount of water it receives from the Peace River/Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority.
Kinsman said that there is no water supply crisis for the areas served by the Peace River.
That holds true for Sarasota County, said Mike Mylett, the county's director of public utilities.
"We have plenty of water, we just can't maintain the pressure in the system because of increased demands," said Mylett.
The majority of the demand for water in Sarasota County is being used for irrigation. Because reclaimed water systems are running low, residents are turning to potable water to water lawns, wash cars and to pressure wash.
Sarasota is working to return water pressure to normal levels; it's unclear when that may occur. That’s why officials are stressing water conservation.
"If we can conserve water by decreasing the demand, then we can assure that people have water to take a shower," Mylett said.
Still, conditions in the county's water system has been able to recover some of the water storage volume that was used during Tuesday's record demands, according to the county. This additional system storage will help to maintain the pressures in the water system, especially during the morning and evening peak demand periods.
The county's emergency declaration issued Wednesday restricts the use of potable water for irrigation purposes. The county said the action will help the water system during this recovery period while limiting further impact to the businesses and residents that have been most impacted by the low system pressures.
"The drought condition poses an immediate and present danger to the health and safety of the citizens of Sarasota County, necessitating the exercise of all reasonable preparatory, precautionary and remedial measures," County Administrator Jonathan Lewis wrote in the emergency declaration.
The National Weather Service and the Florida Forest Service indicate the forecast fire danger indices are in the high to very high category throughout the water management district’s 16-county service area. This means there is a high risk of a wild fires starting and quickly spreading out of control.
The district prohibited campfires on all district campgrounds until further notice. Sarasota County and North Port’s fire chiefs also issued recreational burn bans.
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Timothy Fanning covers Sarasota government for the Herald-Tribune. Reach Timothy at tim.fanning@heraldtribune.com or on Twitter: @timothyjfanning. Support the Herald-Tribune by subscribing today.
The Link LonkMay 28, 2021 at 02:41AM
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What Sarasota and Manatee's dry weather spell means for the region - Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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