Reports of water violations surge in Sarasota County as drought continues

Complaints about residents violating mandatory outdoor watering restrictions tripled across Sarasota County after regional officials tightened drought restrictions in April. But the surge was concentrated almost entirely in the communities that are actively enforcing the restrictions and gave residents an easy way to report violations. 

The region has been under a declared water shortage since November, but the Southwest Florida Water Management District escalated it to a Phase 3 water shortage on April 3, limiting most outdoor watering to once a week. During the first five months of the drought — from Nov. 5 to April 5 — local governments received just over 200 reports of watering violations. In the following two months, there were more than 600. 

Nearly all of those complaints came from unincorporated Sarasota County, the Englewood water district and the city of North Port, which together accounted for 98% of the reported violations. Sarasota, Venice and Longboat Key, meanwhile, provided little or no online information about how residents could report violations and received few complaints, even though some continued enforcing the restrictions on their own.

Brian Vinson, who lives in unincorporated Sarasota County, is among those who have reported neighbors for violating the restrictions. He said doesn’t consider taking care of the Earth just an ecological duty, he considers it a spiritual one. 

For him, that includes following water use restrictions.

The restrictions limit outdoor watering to once a week and set specific hours when irrigation is allowed. Vinson has been following the restrictions and educating his neighbors when he sees them watering outside designated times.

A few of his neighbors started following the restrictions after speaking with Vinson. Other neighbors didn’t, leading him to submit several complaints of violations to the county water department. 

“Being responsible means following the best practices,” Vinson told Suncoast Searchlight. “It’s not like they said you can’t water at all, but the restrictions are there and in place for a reason.”

Violation reports have multiplied

The surge in complaints was especially dramatic in North Port, which had only two complaints during the first five months of the shortage and 34 in the following two months.  

North Port Communications Manager Jason Bartolone attributed the increase to a combination of proactive efforts by utilities staff — who submitted about a third of the city’s complaints — and an increase in awareness among residents. 

“This has been going on now for a few months, so people are more aware of it, more vigilant of it,” Bartolone said. “So they’re reporting more.”

North Port hasn’t issued any fines for water restriction violations. Bartolone said city staff are first educating homeowners about the restrictions and then following up to ensure compliance.

Sarasota County, on the other hand, has issued more than 60 citations in response to 322 complaints received in the two months since the water restrictions were increased to Phase 3. Fines for citations in Sarasota County range from $100 to $500.

Brooke Bailey, the Sarasota County Public Utilities Director, said the county’s current water demand is lower than at this point last year, and she believes the efforts to educate and enforce the water restrictions are paying off.

The county sends out a notice every time it receives a complaint, but staff don’t issue citations unless a code enforcement officer sees a violation themselves, Bailey said. 

“You don’t really see people irrigating much anymore,” she said. “It seems like people have definitely taken the message to heart, which we really appreciate … We’re all in it together.”

Keith Ledford, the executive director of the Englewood Water District, said the district’s average water output is also lower than at this time last year, but it’s hard to say if that’s directly tied to water restrictions.

“I do think that is part of the reason why less water usage is happening,” Ledford said.

The district has ramped up enforcement. It has issued almost 200 fines in response to 267 complaints received during the two months after water restrictions were increased to Phase 3. Fines in the water district range from $100 to $500.

“The word has gotten out to the communities, neighbor by neighbor,” said Jordan Chunco, the customer service manager for the water district.

Other municipalities have not seen as much community response

The municipalities that are actively enforcing restrictions and have easy online access to submit potential violators have seen the most complaints.

Englewood and Sarasota County both have online complaint portals for water restriction violations. North Port similarly received complaints through the city’s pre-existing portal for code violations.

While the city of Sarasota also has a general code enforcement portal, it has received just 10 water violation complaints in the two months since the restrictions were increased and has not issued any citations.

The city hasn’t been doing any proactive enforcement of the restrictions — like having enforcement officers watch for violations or monitoring water bills — beyond responding to the few complaints it has received, according to Utilities Director Verne Hall. 

Following a complaint, the city will attempt to educate the homeowner with a door hanger, and if the violation continues, code enforcement will issue a citation.

“Everybody’s kind of hoping that, by now, (the restrictions) would be lifted,” Hall said. 

The town of Longboat Key also has not published online information about how to file water restriction complaints. In the two months since the restrictions were increased, the town had one complaint, which was resolved without any issued fines or citations. Longboat Key has not issued any citations.

Venice has had no community complaints, but a lot more violations, issuing 83 citations between May 11 and the end of June. The city’s website states that complaints can be reported to the Venice Police Department, over the phone. 

Venice code enforcement officers have been enforcing the watering restrictions whenever they see someone watering outside allowed hours, according to Stacy Grant, the Venice Utilities office manager. 

When the water shortage was first declared, Venice code enforcement focused more on education and issuing warnings. Now, Grant said the city only gives one warning before issuing a citation — which comes with a $75 to $175 fine.

“Between being on our utility bills, on our website, on our social media, there is massive communication,” Grant said, “so everyone should be aware of what our restrictions are.”

Emily Andersen is a watchdog/investigative reporter for Suncoast Searchlight. Email her at eandersen@suncoastsearchlight.org.