Process to Tighten Outdoor Irrigation Rules Underway

ORLANDO, Fla. -- To ensure efficient and effective use of water for landscape irrigation, the St. Johns River Water Management District's governing board has voted to begin the process to amend district rules related to lawn and landscape irrigation.
 
Current districtwide rules prohibit irrigation of landscape between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. The proposed rule amendments include the addition of a new districtwide requirement limiting landscape irrigation to no more than two days per week.

The proposed irrigation rules will apply to everyone, regardless if the water comes from a private well, a private or public utility, a surface water body or reuse water. It also will apply to all landscape irrigation -- residential, commercial, industrial and recreational areas.

"The proposed rule amendment is designed to allocate appropriate amounts of water for lawn and landscape irrigation," says Alfred Canepa, the district's assistant director of resource management, in a prepared statement. "Limiting landscape irrigation to no more than two days a week conserves water, while providing enough irrigation to maintain healthy lawns."

Also included in the rule amendment is a provision for enforcement of irrigation requirements by local governments through the adoption of local ordinances. If a local government adopts such an ordinance, specific days may be established for watering. If a local government chooses not to adopt an ordinance, the user can choose any two days of the week to water.

A districtwide water shortage warning has been in effect since 2000, which includes voluntary limitations on landscape irrigation to no more than two days a week. Moreover, six counties in the eastern portion of Central Florida have been under a water shortage order since 2001, requiring limitations on landscape irrigations to no more than two days a week.

The water shortage warning and order will remain in effect until the rule-making process to amend the district's irrigation requirements is completed, which should happen sometime this winter.