Flagler County and the surrounding area have been placed under a Phase III Extreme Water Shortage by the St. Johns River Water Management District. The District announced the measure Wednesday for the 18 counties under their jurisdiction after a period of low rainfall and diminishing groundwater supply.
“The move to Phase III reflects the severity of current drought conditions and the need for immediate action to reduce water demand,” said St. Johns River Water Management District Director of Water Supply and Assessment Clay Coarsey. “Protecting our water resources requires a collective effort. Residents, businesses, agricultural operations and large water users all play an important role in helping conserve supplies during these prolonged dry conditions.”
Local Water Usage Restrictions
Under the SJRWMD’s declaration, a series of mandatory restrictions are in place to conserve existing water supplies. The usage of water for landscape irrigation is limited to one day per week on residential, commercial, and institutional properties. This includes ‘managed landscapes and athletic fields’, per the District’s announcement.
Restrictions which are newly enacted under this declaration include the following, as described in the announcement.
- The water shortage is being expanded into the District’s portion of Lake County.
- Commercial, industrial and institutional users must suspend certain non-essential water uses.
- Irrigation for golf course fairways is limited to one day per week.
- Aesthetic water use is prohibited, and additional restrictions apply to activities such as street and pressure washing.
- Landscape irrigation is prohibited between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.
In addition to these mandatory restrictions, the SJRWMD is asking water users to cut back on usage that isn’t absolutely necessary. If drought conditions persist, it could lead to the implementation of increased restrictions.
Over the next three months, Flagler County and the surrounding area would need to receive 26.21 inches of rainfall to improve upon extreme drought conditions, the District says. This number is a marginally higher 26.83 inches for Volusia County and its surrounding area.
The St. Johns River Water Management District is one of five such districts in Florida, which govern groundwater and surface water resources. Flagler County is a part of Area 2, while Volusia County belongs to Area 4. St. Johns County is within Area 1.
The counties which are partially or fully under the SJRWMD’s authority include Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Indian River, Lake, Marion, Nassau, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Putnam, Seminole, St. Johns, and Volusia.
The Causes & Effects of Florida’s Drought
Florida as a whole has been experiencing drought conditions for several months. The U.S. Drought Monitor lists almost the entire state of Florida in a ‘moderate drought’ at least, with large portions of the state in a ‘severe’, ‘extreme’, or ‘exceptional’ drought. The problem isn’t exclusive to Florida; over 60% of the United States is currently in a drought that leading meteorologists have called one of the worst in decades.
Virginia Tech climatologist Andrew Ellis attributes this drought to an influx of dryness from the La Niña phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean. “With La Niña in place, the fall and winter season storm track typically moves farther north along the U.S.-Canadian border, leaving the southern U.S. without the storm dynamics that generate precipitation,” he said. “Pacific storm systems are less frequent in the Southwest, and the flow of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico into the eastern U.S. is less frequent.”
Ellis also added that warmer air temperatures are causing more water to be evaporated and transpired from the soil. This factor, which is worsened by the drought, coincides with steadily increasing mean air temperatures in Florida per Florida State University. As the climate trends warmer, causing groundwater to be lost more quickly, existing drought-causing phenomenons become more severe.
The most dangerous effect of severe droughts extends far beyond limited water usage. According to the Florida Forest Service, drought conditions directly coincide with wildfires. “While drought-like conditions have plagued the state since late 2025, Florida’s peak wildfire season usually encompasses April, May, and June,” the FFS said on May 6. “In just over four months of 2026, Florida has already tallied almost 2,000 wildfires and over 120,000 acres burned throughout the state. Over the past 10 years, Florida has averaged about 2,675 wildfires and just over 140,000 acres burned per year.”
