October 22, 2024

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) Governing Board voted today to rescind the Modified Phase I Water Shortage Order enacted in November 2023. This action eliminates one-day-per-week water restrictions for Hillsborough and Pinellas counties; however Pasco County and the City of Tampa will remain on one-day-per-week watering by local ordinance.

All 16 counties throughout the District’s boundaries are now on Year-Round Water Conservation Measures, with lawn watering limited to twice-per-week unless your city or county has a different schedule or stricter hours. Local governments maintaining once-per-week watering by local ordinance include Citrus, Hernando, Pasco and Sarasota counties and the cities of Dunedin, Longboat Key, Tampa and Venice.

The District's Governing Board declared a Modified Phase I Water Shortage Order in November 2023 and voted to extend that order in February and again in June and August as the water resources and public water supplies continued to recover from below-normal rainfall during the 2023 summer rainy season (June-September).

However, the District’s 16-county region has received above-average rainfall during the 2024 summer rainy season, which includes rainfall from Tropical Storm Debby. Provisional data show the District also received up to 10-15 inches of rainfall in some areas due to Hurricane Milton in October. Lakes, streams, ponds, wetlands and aquifer levels have improved and Tampa Bay Water’s 15.5-billion-gallon C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir is nearly full.

The District appreciates the public’s cooperation during the Phase I Water Shortage to conserve water and urges residents to continue watching the weather and only watering on their assigned day(s) when needed during the dry season.

For additional information including watering schedules and local government links, visit the District’s website WaterMatters.org/Restrictions. For water conserving tips, visit WaterMatters.org/Water101.