SWFL drought recovery underway as rain refills Peace River supply

NORTH PORT, Fla. (WINK) — Recent rainfall is helping Southwest Florida recover from one of its driest seasons in years.

Months of drought, extreme heat and water restrictions left gardens, rivers and water supplies struggling across the region. Jose Malvas, a North Port neighbor with a green thumb, watched some of his plants die during the harsh conditions.

"I had a couple of plants die," Malvas said.

Now, the rain is bringing relief. Malvas is seeing signs of recovery in his garden.

"The leaves are getting greener. I've seen some flowers pop up, and of course, with that comes a couple of weeds that I need to clean up," Malvas said.

The drought kept burn bans in place across Southwest Florida for months. Chief Scott Titus of North Port Fire Rescue said the dry conditions lasted longer than usual.

"It's been a number of years since we've been this dry," Titus said. "It was a longer period of time for us that we stayed under that ban."

North Port has finally lifted its burn ban. Titus welcomed the change in weather patterns.

"It's nice to get that kind of slow afternoon rain," Titus said.

The recent rain is also helping the drinking water supply. After a dry May and June, the Peace River Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority is pumping from the Peace River again. Katie Gilmore, director of operations for the authority, said water levels and flows are improving.

"We still have about six to seven months' supply, and we're still maintaining drought response measures," Gilmore said. "We are starting to see those levels and those flows come up, especially now with the flow we had over this weekend with the rainfall and in the last couple of weeks."

For Malvas, the rain brings mixed feelings as hurricane season approaches.

"We're happy for the rain, but I'm not sure about hurricane season. We're prepared," Malvas said.

Even with recent rainfall, officials say Southwest Florida remains in drought recovery mode. Titus said lightning can still spark fires, and the Peace River Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority urges everyone to continue following water restrictions until the area fully rebounds.