Emily Andersen/Suncoast Searchlight

Suncoast Searchlight reviewed water-restriction complaints and enforcement records across Sarasota County during Southwest Florida’s most severe drought in nearly a decade and found municipalities are taking sharply different approaches to enforcement. While some jurisdictions actively patrol for violations and issue citations, others rely primarily on education and warnings and provide few clear ways for residents to report violations. We also examine how the drought has heightened public scrutiny over water use, with hundreds of residents filing complaints about sprinklers, lush lawns and suspected overwatering during the regional shortage.

Tamara Patzer didn’t mean to call the police on her son. On April 11, she realized he was having a delusional episode while visiting him at his home in Port Charlotte. She called a mental health service provider. Instead, he was arrested and is now being held in the Sarasota County Jail.