05/26/06

Drought dries up Myakka

You need to be at 500 feet altitude to fully appreciate how serious the drought in this area is.

On a recent patrol flight in the sheriff's helicopter, chief pilot Sgt. Roger Jernigan flew the Myakka River tract from Clark Road south to Laurel Road.

"Lower Myakka Lake is two-thirds dry," Jernigan said, "and you could walk all the way across it through the water that's left and it probably wouldn't be much over your ankles."

Jernigan followed the serpentine Myakka River roughly 8 miles to Laurel Road.

"There were several sections, hundreds of feet long, that were dry," Jernigan said.

At one point along the tract, a man-made dam across the river was completely out of the water.

Where did all the water go?

Below the flight path, miles and miles of geography showed a green, velvety color. Jernigan said all of that green is usually covered with water.

The drought conditions were confirmed by Sarasota County Fire Department Wildfire Specialist Chuck Johnston.

"The areas are as dry as I've seen them in the last few years," Johnston said. "lt was real dry in 2000, and it's as dry or drier now."

While there have been more wildfires this year than last, Johnston said there are several reasons why there aren't even more fires.

"The dangerous weather has sort of moderated a bit, we have really planned our controlled burning," he said, "and we've made pre-suppression fire lines (commonly called firebreaks) 8 or 10 feet wide in many areas."

Additionally, Johnston said the sheriff's helicopter with its 265-gallon water tank has helped keep many small fires from becoming larger ones.

Flying over the area, pilots also spot numerous circular patches of brown. They look like alien landscaping or remnants from a long-dead civilization.

"Those are seepage, or flag ponds," Johnston said. "They are really an important part of the ecosystem."

Now, they are all dry pond beds.

Sleepers

With the drought index right now up around 600 (800 is desert, 0 is flooding, 300 is a good number), fire and drought experts worry about a troublesome phenomenon called the "the Sleeper."

"That's where you have lightening hit a tree and it heats up the ground enough to start smoldering," Johnston said. "You may get some rain but as soon as the moisture dries off the next day, the smoldering flares up and you got a fire.

"It's just like a charcoal briquette under that tree." The drought index (DI) is a measurement of the amount of moisture in 8 inches of top soil.

Johnston said when the DI is in the 300 range, you can still have wildfires but ones that burn large areas uncontrolled are less likely.

Johnston said vegetation is very "stressed" right now because it lacks water.

"The root system isn't pulling moisture up," he said, "so the plants go into a survival mode."

Great pains have been taken to ensure that the Carlton Reserve is as nearly wildfire-proof as experts can make it. The reserve, a nearly 25,000 tract of pine, flatwoods, dry prairies, hammock and wetlands, is located northeast of Venice.

Prescribed, or controlled, burns, help keep wildfires there to a minimum.

In addition, a vast road improvement program through the wilderness also helps cut losses in the event of a wildfire.

"We've broken it up into 85 different zones (protected by firebreaks)," Johnston said. "We also put all-weather roads through there so we can move heavy (firefighting) equipment easier."

From Jan. 1-May 24, 2006, 2,667 wildfires have burned 104,295 acres, according to Florida Department of Forestry figures.

The following is a review of those restrictions, which apply whether the source of water is a well, pond or from a utility system:

* Even-numbered addresses (house numbers ending with 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8) may water only on Tuesdays.

* Odd-numbered addresses (house numbers ending with 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9) may water only Sundays.

* No irrigation is allowed between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

* The maximum amount of water applied is limited to three-quarters of an inch in each irrigation zone, once, on each allowable watering day.

Flower beds, vegetable gardens and other nonlawn areas may be irrigated as needed using a hand-watering device with a shut-off nozzle. These areas may also be watered using micro-irrigation and other forms of horticulture-appropriate, low-volume irrigation on any day of the week.

Newly planted lawn and landscape areas may be watered any day of the week for a 60-day establishment period that begins the day that the plant material is installed. However, no irrigation is permitted between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

To report violations of these water restrictions, residents should contact Sarasota County Utilities Customer Service at (941) 861-6790 with the time and date of the alleged violation.

For more information about watering restrictions or to report watering violations, contact the Sarasota County Call Center at 861-5000 and ask for Utilities Customer Service.

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