Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 40D-21.221 - Evaluating Water Conditions

(1) The District shall consider the data collected by the District as described in Rule 40D-21.211, F.A.C., in determining:

(a) Whether a Water Shortage or Water Shortage Emergency should be declared in light of existing or projected conditions and anticipated durations thereof;

(b) Whether the restrictions and other response mechanisms in effect are being adequately enforced; and

(c) Whether an existing order issued pursuant to this chapter should be modified or rescinded in light of existing and/or anticipated conditions.

(2) Regional condition data may represent the entire District or any portion thereof. Individual Drought Indicators and Drought Condition Levels shall be decision-making tools, not values that will automatically trigger a District response.

(3) In evaluating whether or not a Water Shortage or Water Shortage Emergency should be declared, the following evaluation process is followed:

(a) The District will compare current data to predetermined values for specific Drought Indicators as shown in Table 21-1.

(b) The District will compile these comparisons to determine the appropriate Drought Condition Level. Specifically, the combination of values for regional Drought Indicators shall be assessed in relation to the matrix shown in Table 21-2;

(c) This evaluation will occur on at least a monthly basis;

(d) Results of this evaluation will be reported to the Board and the Executive Director as needed.

TABLE 21-1: Drought Indicators

Drought Indicator Value	REGIONAL RAINFALL (12-Month Moving Sum)	REGIONAL RAINFALL (24-Month Moving Sum)	CURRENT STREAM-FLOW (7-Day Moving Average)	AVERAGE STREAM-FLOW (8-Week Moving Average)	AQUIFER RESOURCE INDICATOR
Moderately Abnormal	21st to 25th percentile	21st to 25th percentile	21st to 25th percentile	21st to 25th percentile	16th to 25th percentile
Severely Abnormal	11th to 20th percentile	11th to 20th percentile	11th to 20th percentile	11th to 20th percentile	16th to 25th percentile for 4 weeks *or* below the 16th percentile
Extremely Abnormal	6th to 10th percentile	6th to 10th Percentile	6th to 10th percentile	6th to 10th percentile	Below the 16th percentile for 4 weeks
Critically Abnormal	5th percentile or less	5th percentile or less	5th percentile or less	5th percentile or less	Below the 16th percentile for 8 weeks

TABLE 21-2: Drought Condition Levels

Drought Condition Level	If this is true ...
Moderate	At least one Drought Indicator is Moderately Abnormal
Severe	Multiple Drought Indicators are Moderately Abnormal or one is Severely Abnormal
Extreme	Multiple Drought Indicators are Severely Abnormal or one is Extremely Abnormal
Critical	Multiple Drought Indicators are Extremely Abnormal or at least one is Critically Abnormal

Notes

Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 40D-21.221

Rulemaking Authority 373.044, 373.113 FS. Law Implemented 373.175, 373.246 FS.

New 11-19-84, Amended 4-9-06, 7-5-12.

New 11-19-84, Amended 4-9-06, 7-5-12.