Environmental Intersection by George Lindemann

Water managers pronounced the drought officially dead on Thursday, lifting water restrictions for most of South Florida.

With torrential rains last month largely erasing most of the lingering deficits from what had been a record-setting dry spell, the South Florida Water Management District’s governing board on Thursday voted to drop irrigation limits placed on homes, farmers and golf courses across much of the region.

They will stay in place, however, in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, which have both adopted permanent twice-weekly watering rules.