In the wake of the region’s driest rainy season in more than two decades, Southwest Florida water managers will vote next week on whether outdoor irrigation should be cut to one day per week in Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties. The Southwest Florida Water Management District vote, set for Tuesday, comes with a recommendation from the agency’s staff to declare a water shortage order .
Tampa Bay residents may have found themselves missing the summer showers this year. Recent rainfall data shows that Southwest Florida, including the Tampa Bay area, experienced the driest rainy season in 26 years. As a result, Tampa Bay Water, the regional utility, issued a water shortage warning Oct. 2 and urged residents to conserve water. The region’s official end to the 4-month rainy .