After receiving only 25 percent of its normal rain this wet season, South Florida is the driest it's been in six decades, leading to severe to extreme drought conditions across most of the region.
Yet water supplies remain fairly healthy and the South Florida Water Management District has no plans to tighten water restrictions at this point.
A big reason: People are using about 10 percent less water now than they did a decade ago, said district spokesman Randy Smith.
"Water conservation has helped out," he said. "People get it."
Despite most of the region recording a meager two to four inches of rain since early June, the Biscayne Aquifer, the region's primary water source, remains at a high level in Broward and Palm Beach counties.