‘’We’re not in any old drought. We?EUR??,,????'???re in what I like to call the biblical drought,’’ said Shannon Estenoz, a member of the South Florida Water Management District’s governing board. ``This is an enormous state of emergency.’’

Beginning in early 2008, roughly five million residents from south of Orlando to Key West, along with governments and businesses, will be required to shut down sprinkler systems, except during a once-weekly, four-hour ?EUR??,,????'??watering window.’?EUR??,,????'??

Thousands of farms and golf courses, trimmed a year ago to less than half their normal allotment of water, will continue at that level.

The board’s unanimous approval of an emergency order of unprecedented scope will cut Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe and Palm Beach counties from current two-day irrigation schedules to just one day ?EUR??,,????'??+ with odd-numbered addresses allowed to water on Mondays and even-numbered addresses on Thursdays. To alleviate utilities?EUR??,,????'??? concerns about dangerous drops in water pressure, homeowners can chose to water either morning or evenings, from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. or from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Overall regional rainfall totals through the end of November remained two inches short of the driest consecutive years on record. Only Miami-Dade and Broward counties got normal or above-normal rain this year.

The extended drought leaves the region in worse shape than last year ?EUR??,,????'??+ when water managers first put South Florida on restrictions ?EUR??,,????'??+ going into the dry season. The biggest deficits are in Lake Okeechobee, which serves as the region’s water barrel, and in the Kissimmee River basin to the north that replenishes it.

Water levels in Lake Okeechobee, the source for surrounding farms and towns, and backup supply for coastal cities, have dipped almost daily since the rainy season ended last month. At 10.18 feet above sea level, it was five feet below normal and more than a foot below it’s record low for the date. District computer models show the lake could bottom out at a staggering seven feet above sea level by next summer.

‘’We’ve been setting an all-time record low each day since early June,’’ said Cal Neidrauer, the district’s chief engineer of operations. ``It’s going to continue for many months.’’