- Phase III Water Shortage limits landscape irrigation to once weekly and bans non-essential uses like washing driveways; residents are urged to conserve water and delay new planting.
- Alachua County's groundwater level fell to the 10th percentile amid the worst drought since 2000, with April rainfall at 0.88 inches versus a 3.38-inch average.
Alachua County and swaths of North Central Florida remain under extreme droughts as the St. Johns River Water Management District declared a Phase III Water Shortage and groundwater fell to the 10th percentile.
Robbie McKinney, manager of the Office of Water Resources for the Suwannee River Water Management District, told the board that it’s the worst drought in decades.
“Really, this is one of the worst droughts that they’ve seen, if not the worst drought they’ve seen, since the U.S. Drought Monitor was conceived back in 2000,” McKinney said at the May 12 meeting.
Alachua County is split between the Suwannee River and St. Johns River water management districts.
McKinney presented the report for April and said the month only brought 0.88 inches of rain across the district compared to the average of 3.38 inches—averaged from 1932 to the present day. The district remains at a 20-inch rainfall deficit.
The numbers didn’t include recent May rainfall, but to begin reducing the deficit, Alachua County would need to see more than the approximately 4 inches of rainfall gotten in May 2025.
The new water shortage declarations prohibit pressure or soft washing for aesthetic reasons, along with non-essential water uses like running fountains and washing streets, sidewalks or driveways.
Landscape irrigation is limited to once per week and between 6 p.m. and 8 a.m. Full restrictions for St. Johns Water Management District are available here.
A release from Alachua County also encouraged residents to delay planting new landscapes that need extra irrigation at the start, since water use is limited.
“While we have experienced some rainfall in recent weeks, it will take considerably more to replenish our aquifer,” Stacie Greco, water resources manager for Alachua County, said in a release. “Conserving water helps protect our regional water supply and local spring and river flows.”
McKinney said the last time the Upper Floridan aquifer fell below the 10% percentile was in 2012 and 2002, reaching 1% and 2%, respectively.