How Jacksonville's recent rainfall can save you money

For the first time in months the state of Florida is drought-free

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – For the first time in months the state of Florida is drought-free - thanks in part to Sub Tropical Storm Alberto and the two week long stretch of Southerly winds that brought consistent wet weather. 

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The Keetch-Byram drought index (KBDI) is a continuous reference scale for estimating the dryness of the soil and duff layers. The current KBDI scale shows the highest level of moisture saturation across the entire State of Florida. 

The United States Drought Monitor also reports that the state of Georgia in a little over 99% drought-free. Small portions of five counties (Floyd, Polk, Haralson, Carroll and Heard), located on the border of Alabama, still suffer from abnormally dry conditions, considered the lowest level of drought.

The recent rain and drought-free status of the state can save you money. Your lawn should not need additional water from irrigation systems unless we dry out significantly. Turning your sprinkler systems off can add up to big savings. 

JEA estimates that 30% of the water they provide their customers is used outdoors, primarily for irrigation.  They also estimate 35-50% of water used for residential irrigation is wasted - some from over watering, but leaks, malfunctions and other factors contribute to that figure as well. 

On average a pop-up station (irrigation system) uses approximately 16 gallons per minute (GPM). Here is an example of how to calculate how much water is being used per month:

Number of Minutes x Number of Stations/Zones = Total Minutes
Total Minutes x Gallons per minute = Total Gallons used per watering cycle
Total Gallons per cycle x Number of days per month you water = Total gallons used per month

If your system has 8 stations, you water twice a week, and each station runs for 15 minutes, then you are using 1,920 gallons per day you water, or 15,360 gallons per month.

According to JEA's website, water ranges from 93 cents to $5.60 per one thousand gallons (depending on your rate of consumption.) Based on the equation above, shutting off your sprinklers this month could save you between $14.28 and and $80.02. 

If you use reclaimed water from JEA for irrigation, the savings can be even higher. Going without watering your lawn this month could save you between $39.94 and $80.02. 

Recent rainfall

During the month of May, the airport site in Jacksonville saw 5.91" of rain, well above the average of 2.48" for the month.  Gainesville saw 8.38" of rain, almost quadrupling their monthly average of 2.48". Even coastal areas saw well above average rainfall this month, Jacksonville Beach got 6.69" of rain. 

Other effects of being drought free

Saving money is always great, but our state's drought-free status comes with other benefits. The wildfire danger is significantly lower when we are saturated. Counties and towns may lift burn bans that are in place to prevent wildfires. Sometimes fireworks displays are altered or canceled if conditions are incredibly dry- that won't be a problem for us this summer. 

The levels of water in the aquifer, lakes, and streams also rises with consistent rainfall like we have seen. 

Conversely- you may end up mowing your lawn more frequently as a result of all of the rain. Mosquitos, which breed in standing water, also have more available areas to proliferate.