Kimberly Miller: Lake Okeechobee water levels (and do you know your watering restrictions?)

Below have the City of Lake Worth watering restrictions. For those of you who reside in other cities and unincorporated Palm Beach County, do you know what your watering restrictions are? And do you know where your water comes from? West Palm Beach is Lake Worth's neighbor to the north but we get our water from different sources.

West Palm Beach gets its water from mostly surface water and supplies Palm Beach (33480) the water they use; Lake Worth uses wells. Lake Okeechobee is very important as you'll read in this excerpt in the Post:

     Lake Okeechobee is closely monitored because it provides water to large agricultural areas and the Miccosukee and Seminole tribes. It also acts as a backup water supply for cities, including West Palm Beach, during severe droughts.
     Areas north of Lake Okeechobee that flow into the lake have received more normal rainfall amounts. The Upper Kissimmee Basin actually had above-average rainfall last month with 8.39 inches of rain.
     On Monday, Lake Okeechobee stood at 12.01 feet, below the preferred levels of between 12.5 feet and 15.5 feet, but not enough to signal water shortage measures. Those kick in at 11.35 feet, Kivett [Jeff Kivett at the SFWMD] said.
     No one is talking increased water restrictions yet, but residents of Palm Beach County and 10 others have been limited to watering their yards to two to three days a week since 2010. The watering must be done before 10 a.m. or after 4 p.m.

You may want to familiarize yourself with local watering restrictions; here are the restrictions for the City of Lake Worth, for example:

• Home Addresses Ending With Even Numbers (including zero) May Water Lawns & Gardens on Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday
• Home Addresses Ending With Odd Numbers May Water Lawns & Gardens on Monday, Wednesday, Saturday
• No Watering between 10am & 4pm