After nearly a year without steady seasonal rain, the first signs of Florida’s rainy season arrived Monday, with showers stretching from Matlacha to Cape Coral. Residents in the northeast part of the city welcomed the change, but say it’s far from enough.
“Hallelujah. It's about time,” said Renee Harvel, a northeast Cape Coral resident. “It's nice to see puddles on the ground. The grass is kind of perking up. So, good.”
Harvel has been measuring rainfall in her backyard, where more than two inches fell overnight and into the morning.
“Yeah, I've got a rain gauge in the backyard, and right now it's showing just over two inches,” she said. “So that is definitely a plus.”
The last true rainy season in the region ended nearly a year ago, and the area has been parched ever since. Private wells are running low, lawns are drying up, and strict water restrictions remain in place.
“It’s a nice break, a reprieve,” said James Coleman, who also lives in northeast Cape Coral. “But, I mean, it gives some of the neighbors a little chance to breathe a little bit on their wells. Again, it’s a drop in the bucket. This is a drought that we’re going through.”
Coleman noted that while weeds are bouncing back with the rain, grass remains difficult to maintain without irrigation.
“You can’t keep the grass because you can’t water it on time,” he said. “Then the only thing that grows is the weeds. And you can’t cut the weeds every other week because then you’re just wasting gas — it’s all dirt and sand.”
Though the showers are welcome, they fall far short of what’s needed to replenish the Mid-Hawthorn Aquifer, which supplies many of the area’s private wells.
“No, no, it’s prolonging the inevitable,” Harvel said. “Just hopefully it holds and we have enough water until we get the utility expansion.”
Sprinkler systems for well-dependent residents remain off-limits. The South Florida Water Management District has been contacted to learn how much rainfall is needed to lift restrictions, but has not yet responded.
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