Glass of water at a restaurant. Photo courtesy of Ka23_13 via Wikipedia Commons.
As the state continues to face drought conditions, restrictions are in place for homeowners, and restaurants won’t be serving tap water automatically.
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By: Madison Overmier
TAMPA, Fla. — The whole state of Florida is facing an extreme drought. In the Tampa Bay area, the city has limited water use because of it. Because of the drought, the Southwest Florida Water Management District has passed a “Modified Phase III Extreme Water Shortage Order.”
As the weather continues to warm with no clouds or rain in sight, the conditions are only getting worse. The average rainy season in Florida begins in late May. For now, due to a lack of rain, Florida residents will face restrictions.
The National Integrated Drought Information System website states that these conditions factor in multiple elements, including precipitation, temperature, and soil moisture.
“Driest year to date over the past 132 years (January-March 2026),” the website states for Hillsborough County.
Colleen Campbell for 10 Tampa Bay said that since Sept. 1, Tampa has only recorded 10.51 inches of rain.
“Similar deficits of 10 to nearly 15 inches are being reported across the region, with some locations seeing their driest start to the dry season on record,” Campbell said.
These conditions have been continuing to worsen. The Hillsborough Water Atlas tracked that the total rainfall in 2025 was 39.21 inches, when the average annual rainfall is typically 52.07 inches. In January of this year, they tracked that we had .79 inches of rainfall for the month, and the average is 2.4 inches.
The Modified Phase III Extreme Water Shortage Order took effect on April 3, limiting local water usage in multiple ways. Homeowners now have to follow a watering schedule, depending on what number their address ends in. For example, house numbers ending in 0 or 1 indicate that their watering day is Monday.
Homeowners are also required to follow the watering rules that were put into place. Watering is prohibited between 4-8 a.m.; handwatering for planting materials is prohibited from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and car washing must be done on your specific watering day. The City of Tampa is cracking down on these rules even for HOAs.
“No HOA or other entity shall enforce deed restrictions or other community standards requiring an increase in water use, including replacement of plant material to meet aesthetic standards or pressure washing,” the City of Tampa states.
Not only are homeowners dealing with these restrictions, but so are restaurants and customers. At many restaurants in the Tampa Bay area, water is given out first to welcome the customer into the environment. Due to the recent drought, they are now prohibited from doing so, unless a customer specifically requests it.
Some restaurants might find this difficult to deal with. Handing out water to a customer first is a way to show attentiveness and give the customer what they need without them having to ask. With this restriction in place, customers could have to wait longer to receive any drink, which can be seen as poor service.
It is important to remember that these conditions are in place and which regions water restrictions are implemented.