Brought to life by two of the driest years in more than a century, Florida's drought now rivals the worst in state history, threatening water supplies, seafood production, boater navigation and forests.
It could get a lot worse. Don't look for much rain soon if the global-climate bully called La Niña keeps flexing its muscle as predicted. "There's a really robust La Niña going on now," said Bart Hagemeyer, meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service in Melbourne. "We're probably not going to see much rain between now and May."
Already, rainfall shortages have left the Panhandle's Apalachicola River and Southwest Florida's Peace River at critically low levels. Massive Lake Okeechobee in South Florida also is reeling, as are Central Florida's large lakes. The Orlando-area lakes drained by drought are "too many to count," said Ed Harris, state Department of Environmental Protection aquatic biologist.
With drought worries on the rise, and Central Florida's water supply stretched to the limit, utilities are taking action. The Toho Water Authority in north Osceola County will soon hire officers to enforce rules that limit lawn irrigation to twice a week.
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http://www.orlandosentinel.com/community/news/conway/orl-drought3107dec31,0,6346985.story
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