New water use restrictions are in place in south Florida. Measures adopted Thursday are aimed at cutting the region's water consumption by 15 percent, and more in some areas.

They come after months of below-normal rainfall. In Southwest Florida growers who pump water from the Caloosahatchee River need to cut consumption by 30 percent. Ron Hamel of the Gulf Citrus Growers Association says the restrictions are problematic.

“the growers are going to have to decide what areas of their groves are going to get watered and areas might not get the same level of water they really need. It’s certainly going to impact the fruit set for the year and it could affect the size of the fruit depending on how long the drought is”

Citrus growers in Southwest Florida pump about a third of their irrigation water from the Caloosahatchee. Residential use by about five and half million people in Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe and Palm Beach counties is under new restrictions. Golf courses, nurseries and utilities are also being asked to make cutbacks.