U.S. Water News Online
BROOKSVILLE, Fla. -- Water managers have decided to ease lawn watering restrictions for much of southwest Florida.
The Southwest Florida Water Management District voted 6-3 to lift the emergency conservation restrictions that limit lawn watering to once a week.
Rainfall across the 16-county region averaged 40 inches this summer, which is 9 inches above normal. That restored most of the area to conditions that existed before the drought in 1998.
``It's now time to withdraw the medicine,'' said governing board member Watson Haynes. ``If things aren't getting better, we can go back to the drawing board. But to prolong this pain and agony on the citizens any longer is ridiculous.''
The restriction remains for the Tampa Bay area -- including Pinellas and Pasco counties and most of Hillsborough County -- where over pumping during the drought has left wetlands and lakes are dry.
The rest of the district will return to the previous twice-a-week lawn watering rule.
Earlier this month, the South Florida Water Management District lifted water restrictions for the 16-county region spanning from Monroe County north to Osceola. It had prohibited residents from watering their lawn more than twice a week and during the middle of the day.
Neither the Suwannee River nor the Northwest Florida Water Management District, which covers western Florida and the Panhandle, had imposed any restrictions.
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