Some SWFL communities asked to conserve water

Parts of Southwest Florida will have to limit their use of water.

People living in Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee and Sarasota counties are being asked to cut back on their water usage.

“I don’t have to pay a water bill so I don’t really worry about it,” said Joe Rosado. “But at the same time, I just try to be conservative.”

Even just a little bit of conservation goes a long way, said Mike Coates, executive director of the Peace River Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority.

Coates said the voluntary cutback is only temporary.

Right now, its treatment facility is operating at 75% capacity as a maintenance project wraps up.

On top of that, two local water treatment plants are offline and repair parts are taking longer than expected to be delivered because of supply chain delays.

“We don’t have a shortage of resources out there. We’ve got a reservoir system is full,” Coates said, adding “We have lots of water, it’s just the treatment capacity.”

Now is the time to fix leaks, take shorter showers and limit irrigation to protect the water supply.

“We need water to live so I mean, it’s important I just I do my part,” Rosada said.

Coates said the average person in Charlotte, DeSoto and Sarasota counties uses about 80 gallons of water per day, making the are one of the most conservative regions for water usage in the state.

In North Port, Public Information Officer Josh Taylor said portions of their water treatment facility are back up and running and could be back online tomorrow.