September 29, 2026
Water Shortage Order Extended to March 2027; Xtreme Bass Closes Three Central Florida Divisions
SWFWMD pushed its one-day-per-week watering restrictions six months past their Oct. 1 expiration, out to March 31, 2027, and the Xtreme Bass Series closed its Harris Chain, Toho and Citrus division seasons.
The Southwest Florida Water Management District's Governing Board voted Sept. 22 to extend its Modified Phase III "Extreme" Water Shortage through March 31, 2027. The order had been set to expire Oct. 1.
Results
Chris Hamlin and Corey Matthews won the Xtreme Bass Series Harris Chain division finale on Sept. 19 with 21.39 pounds. Andrew Grosswald and Blake Lee took second at 19.71 with the event's biggest fish, 7.65 pounds. Richard Delabar and Anthony DiFonzo clinched the Harris Chain division points title.
Jeremy Smith and Ben Smith won the Toho division finale on Sept. 26 with an 18.06-pound, five-bass limit and took the Toho points title. Chad Schroeder and Anthony Cilladi weighed the big bass at 4.85 pounds. The field was nine boats, and five of those teams brought 0.00 pounds to the scale.
Dave Cutler and Joey Johnson won the Citrus division finale on Lake Panasoffkee on Sept. 27 with 10.14 pounds, against 10.11 for Brandon Williams and Jesse Williams. Clint Combast and Tracy Isabella took the Citrus points title.
Coming Up
The 2026 Xtreme Bass Series Championship runs Oct. 15-17 on Lake Okeechobee out of Scott Driver Park.
Worth Knowing
This is the second extension of the Modified Phase III order, and the restrictions themselves do not change: one day per week, watering only between midnight and 4 a.m. or 8 p.m. and 11:59 p.m. The order covers all of Polk and Sumter counties and portions of Lake and Highlands counties. Tampa Bay Water's C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir held 7.87 billion gallons as of Sept. 20, about half its storage capacity.
Polk County Utilities stopped issuing courtesy letters for a first watering infraction, announced Sept. 25. A customer seen watering outside their designated day or time now receives a citation and possible fines under Polk County Ordinance No. 09-050. Homeowners associations may not enforce standards that would require watering beyond the approved schedule.
The St. Johns River Water Management District reported Sept. 18 that Lake County sits 8.57 inches below average rainfall for the previous 12 months and Marion County 14.06 inches, with Phase III restrictions still in effect in affected areas.
The 2026 Atlantic season is the first in modern history without a cyclone reaching 74 mph winds; the only other seasons without a hurricane were 1914 and 1907. As of Sept. 28, forecast models showed no significant tropical cyclone developing in the Gulf, Caribbean or Atlantic over at least the next 10 days.
FWC began removing roughly 31 acres of floating tussock from Lake Weir in Marion County on Sept. 25, working north of Bird Island and west of the Carney Island peninsula near where the Weir Canal meets the lake. Access to Little Lake Weir is unavailable while the work runs, and FWC expects the project complete by Dec. 18, 2026.
Sources
Every factual claim in this story was checked against the page it came from before the story was saved. These are those pages. Our standards are on the masthead.
- District Extends Modified Phase III Water Shortage — SWFWMD (Sept. 22, 2026)
- Modified Watering Hours to Remain in Effect Through March 2027 — Polk County Government (Sept. 25, 2026)
- Hamlin & Matthews Close Out Harris Chain with Win — Xtreme Bass Series
- Smith and Smith Close Out Toho Division with Win in Final Event of Season — Xtreme Bass Series
- Cutler and Johnson Close Out Citrus Division with Win at Lake Panasoffkee — Xtreme Bass Series
- Recent rainfall brings relief, but regional water recovery remains slow — The Apopka Voice / SJRWMD (Sept. 18, 2026)
- Peak tropical cyclone season to wrap up without a hurricane across Atlantic — WUSF (Sept. 28, 2026)
- FWC to harvest tussock material on Lake Weir — FWC (Sept. 25, 2026)
Presented by
Lake levels change. Shorelines reveal things.
Low water, erosion, wake exposure, or a failing seawall — if conditions on your lake are showing up at the property line, Horizon Marine can take a look. Free waterfront assessment, no obligation.
Quilatan Dominates Harris Chain BFL; Extreme Drought Restrictions Hit Polk County Lakes
Windermere's Dylan Quilatan posts a 34-pound bag to win the BFL on the Harris Chain while Polk County enters extreme drought restrictions through July
Read →
Algae Alert in Apopka; Burn Bans and Watering Restrictions Hold
Apopka issued a blue-green algae alert for Northwest Recreation Pond, and SWFWMD's Phase III water restrictions remain in force through July 1
Read →
Lakeland Starts Fining Watering Violations; Quilatan Takes Gator Division AOY
Lakeland attached $50-to-$500 fines to the Phase 3 watering restrictions on Sept. 8, and Windermere's Dylan Quilatan closed out the BFL Gator Division season with the Angler of the Year title
Read →
Drought Orders Hold Lawn Irrigation to One Day a Week
Blue-green algae alerts surface in Flagler County and on Lake Okeechobee as the regional drought drags into June
Read →
Planning waterfront work in Brandon?
Free waterfront assessment · License #SCC131154313