SWFL shouldn’t expect much drought relief from upcoming storms

Reporter: Elizabeth Biro
Published: Updated:
Drought severity in Cape Coral. CREDIT: WINK News

Southwest Florida is bone dry, and that means the rain hitting the Sunshine State over the weekend should help bring some relief to the current drought, but it will probably not be enough.

The South Florida Water Management District explained the intensity of the water shortage. The aquifer is 16 feet from what they call the minimum flow level, and that’s a dangerous zone.

Sounds like a lot of water, but during a typical dry season, Southwest Florida loses 15 to 20 feet of that water. Any rain is good, but it won’t solve the drought problem overnight.

While the weekend rain storm will help, Florida Gulf Coast University’s Dr. Don Duke said when the soil is that dry, packed like a hard pan, water has a difficult time getting through.

“When it rains a lot in a short period of time, most of it runs off, it doesn’t sink into the ground, it doesn’t rehydrate the groundwater or the ecosystems to the same extent that it would if you had a steady rain over a long period of many days,” said Duke.

With all of the upcoming rain, there is a potential for flash flooding on Friday.

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