Above-average rainfall in August still leaves District’s southern region abnormally dry

While some areas in the central and northern region of the St. Johns River Water Management District received more than 9 inches of rain, southern portions of the District, including parts of Brevard, Indian River, Okeechobee, and Osceola counties, were left abnormally dry as reported in the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Orange County received 9.3 inches of rain in August, according to the SJRWMD website.

A full report outlining August hydrologic conditions was presented at the District’s Governing Board meeting Tuesday. Highlights include:

Rainfall

• Districtwide, August rainfall averaged 7.41 inches, which is 0.41 inches above the average for the month.
• Districtwide, the cumulative rainfall total for the past 12 months is 50.07 inches, which is .94 inches below the long-term average.

Groundwater 

• Upper Floridan aquifer conditions (groundwater levels) at the end of August were mostly in the normal range across the District, except in areas of eastern Duval, northern St. Johns, and Indian River counties, where conditions were in the low range.
• Groundwater levels expressed as a single Districtwide index are at the 53rd percentile Districtwide. Since 1980, aquifer levels have been higher than they currently are about 47 percent of the time. 

Spring flows

• The mean monthly flow at Silver Springs increased to 599 cubic feet per second (cfs), or 387 million gallons per day (mgd), which is a 6 cfs increase from July’s mean and remains in the normal range for this time of year.
• At the Blue Spring station in Volusia County, the mean monthly flow was 147 cfs, or 95 mgd.
• At Rock Springs, the monthly mean flow increased 1 cfs to 59 cfs (38 mgd), which is in the normal range for August.
• Mean monthly flow at Wekiwa Springs increased to 70 cfs (45 mgd), which is in the high range for the time of year. 

To learn more about rainfall totals and other hydrologic data collected, visit www.sjrwmd.com.    

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About the St. Johns River Water Management District

St. Johns River Water Management District staff are committed to ensuring the sustainable use and protection of water resources for the people of the District and the State of Florida. The St. Johns River Water Management District is one of five districts in Florida managing groundwater and surface water supplies in the state. The District encompasses all or part of 18 northeast and east-central Florida counties. District headquarters are in Palatka, and staff also are available to serve the public at service centers in Apopka, Jacksonville, and Palm Bay. For more information about the District, please visit www.sjrwmd.com.