MIAMI -- Experts said that for the first time since 2001, South Florida homeowners and businesses would soon be under orders to use less water.

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Water levels show that the region is in a deepening drought and Lake Okeechobee is receding daily once again, managers from the South Florida Water Managament District said. They believe that on Thursday a mandatory restriction intended to cut water use by at least 15 percent in Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe and Palm Beach counties will go into effect.

Water managers said that sugar growers and rural town around Lake Okeechobee would feel the most heat because their restrictions would be doubled.

For South Florida residents, the restriction means reduced water pressure entering homes and landscapes would be reduced to less watering because of a three-day-a-week limit on lawn sprinkling. Experts said that accounts for half of suburban water demand.

In the past, repeat violators have been slapped with fines of up to $500.

Nurseries, farmers, golf courses, car washes, industries and commercial users also will face an array of reductions -- both mandatory and voluntary -- and some worry cutbacks could also cut profits.

Since the fall, the region has suffered a near-record dry spell. The last few weeks have been extremely dry in Miami-Dade and Broward, and the two months ahead are traditionally the driest of the year.

And at Lake Okeechobee, the primary source of water for nearby farmers and towns and the backup supply for coastal suburbia, the waters have been so low that the district last week started installing pumps to draw water that gravity normally spills down canals.

There are hints we may be coming into a La Niña period, a weather phenomena, marked by lower Pacific Ocean temperatures, creating drier-than-normal conditions across the Southeast.

While the district's governing board must approve the restrictions, water managers have already scheduled a news conference to discuss details on Thursday.