That's keeping the company so busy that a recording urges people who call with problems involving shallow wells to call the well driller who installed it. Water district officials say Central Florida has a rainfall deficit of about 18 inches since last fall, and conditions are expected to continue to deteriorate until summer rains begin in May or June. The Climate Prediction Center in Maryland now is forecasting below-average rainfall for Florida for the next three months, months that are already normally dry. Monday evening's light rainfall was the first in Polk County this month. Lake levels are already below where they were at the start of the rainy season, and both lake and groundwater levels are expected to continue to fall.
People have to realize that water is a finite resource.
If everybody starts pumping at one time, it's not good. That's the reason the water district is limiting irrigation to one day a week, based on house numbers. Water officials now say those restrictions could be tightened before they are relaxed. Growth has accelerated the problem, with more people using ground water every year. One result, officials said, is that it takes a shorter time for the impact of a drought to be seen in groundwater tables.