Water-use restrictions are getting tighter. But enforcement is uneven.
By Emily Andersen/Suncoast Searchlight
Original Air Date: May 15, 2026
Host: The drought is getting worse, and water-use restrictions are getting stricter. But enforcement is uneven, as Emily Andersen with Suncoast Searchlight found out.
Emily Andersen: Ava Lasseter does not like the view in front of her Sarasota County home.
A house under construction. Port-a-potties. And, a few weeks ago, a sprinkler running mid-day while Southwest Florida is grappling with its most severe drought in nearly a decade.
She told me that, when she saw that sprinkler, she was angry at the developer’s obliviousness to the environment. And she knew how to report a complaint.
Lasseter is among hundreds of Sarasota County residents who have submitted complaints about alleged violations of water restrictions. The restrictions were escalated by the Southwest Florida Water Management District in April in response to the ongoing water shortage. They require residents to water only one day per week during specific times.
Cities and counties are also required to issue fines without first giving warnings for violations.
But enforcement has not been equal across Sarasota County. Some municipalities are responding to complaints and issuing fines, while others are not even monitoring for violations.
Ava Lassater, who has been replacing her lawn with native plants and adjusting her landscaping to better capture and absorb rain water, said she has reported multiple water-restriction violations since the start of the ongoing drought. | Photo courtesy of Ava Lassater
Abbey Tyrna is the executive director of environmental nonprofit Suncoast Waterkeeper. She said she’s worried that this patchwork system could be undermining compliance.
“Without good communication that is cutting through the noise of everyday life, and without having code enforcement out working to stop violations, there’s going to probably be no compliance, or very little compliance.”
Unincorporated Sarasota County and the Englewood Water District have both created online portals where they have received complaints.
They range from straightforward to angry.
Here’s one complaint: “Always very lush and green but we never see them watering during the times that we are restricted to watering. I think they overwater at night when we are asleep.”
Another one: “Sprinklers…have been on for at least the last six months every morning between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m.…Not good in a drought.”
The county and the water district are both actively responding to complaints and issuing fines when they can verify them.
The cities of Venice, Sarasota, North Port and Longboat Key do not have online water complaint portals. Some have received complaints over the phone or through general purpose complaint portals, but not many. All four cities told Suncoast Searchlight they have not been issuing fines in response to violations. Venice recently changed its policy, saying it will fine violators starting on May 11.
Southwest Florida is currently facing a deficit of 12.8 inches of rainfall compared to the average 12-month total. If the drought continues, water use experts say it will put local ecosystems and wildlife at risk.
Says Tyrna: “Birds could start going hungry. Fish are going to be stuck.”
Reporting for Suncoast Searchlight, I am Emily Andersen. To read the full story, go to suncoastsearchlight.org/drought-drains-southwest-florida-water-reserves-supply-secure.
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