Rain brings relief, but resources are sapped

Despite green grass and rising lakes, the impact from the drought lingers in water supplies still 2 feet below normal.

By JORGE SANCHEZ

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 27, 2000

INVERNESS -- Heavy rains have greatly improved the drought conditions this month, but the effects of the 18-month dry spell will take awhile longer to overcome.

Citrus County has been deluged by lots of rain, dumping from 6 to 9 inches this month. The rain has helped raise lake levels and has turned lawns from brown to vibrant green. The Inverness lake of the Tsala Apopka chain has had significant improvement. Rock ledges that rose above the water surface near the State Road 44 E boat ramp are now submerged. "We've seen lots of people getting back on the water, in boats and lots of Jet Ski activity," said Shawn Zettle of Watson fish camp in Hernando.

The official rainfall level for Citrus County so far this month is 6.6 inches, according to Michael Molligan of the Southwest Florida Water Management District. The historical average for July is 8.2 inches, he said. He said some spots have measured as much as 9 inches. As a whole, Citrus County has gotten more rainfall this month than the counties to the immediate south, he said.

But, Molligan said, the 18-month-long drought is still in effect.

"It's hard to think of things that way when all the lawns are green and we're getting rain every day, but that's superficial. We've still got a ways to go to get the aquifer back up." Swiftmud has designed a drought recovery indicator to help understand the process. According to that model, the underground water supply is still about 2.2 feet from normal.

"And that's the low end of what we consider normal," he said.

Meanwhile, the drought followed by the heavy rains have caused problems in Inverness for the boat ramps on N Apopka Avenue and State Road 44 E.

The N Apopka boat ramp was damaged by erosion and other factors that caused it to chip away. The city contracted Skipper's Marine to repair the ramp, but Inverness Parks and Recreation director Patti Smith said the repairs have not gone smoothly.

"The rains came at a real bad time and the contractor just got washed out and basically had to start over," she said.

The ramp was damaged because of launches during low water levels. Boaters were backing their trailers past the concrete and into the lake bottom to launch, and it caused erosion and chipping.

"We just kept them open too long," Smith said. "The ramp needs to be underwater or damage will result."

Only the N Apopka boat ramp is getting repairs. The State Road 44 E boat ramp soon will be demolished by the state Department of Transportation as part of a road-widening plan. It will be rebuilt a few hundred yards to the east.

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