Final adoption of irrigation rule changes set for Dec. 9

Final adoption of irrigation rule changes set for Dec. 9

PALATKA, Fla., -  The St. Johns River Water Management District’s Governing Board will hold a final rule adoption public hearing Dec. 9 on changes that will tighten the District’s irrigation restrictions.

Under the amended rule, landscape irrigation would be limited to two days a week when daylight saving time is in effect and one day a week when Eastern Standard Time is in effect.

The amended rule would also set the days of the week that residential and non-residential users could irrigate — Wednesday and Saturday for residential landscape irrigation at odd numbered addresses or no address, Thursday and Sunday for residential landscape irrigation at even numbered addresses, and Tuesday and Friday for non-residential landscape irrigation during daylight saving time.

When Eastern Standard Time is in effect, residential landscape irrigation would be limited to Saturdays at odd numbered addresses or no address, Sundays at even numbered addresses, and Tuesdays for non-residential landscape irrigation.

In addition, no landscape irrigation would be allowed between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. (as in the existing rule).

Additionally, under the amended rule, landscape irrigation would be limited to ¾ inch of water per irrigation zone on each day that irrigation occurs, and to no more than one hour per irrigation zone on each day that irrigation occurs.

Due to concerns expressed by some reclaimed water utilities about the reclaimed water and recycled stormwater provisions in the proposed rule, the District is recommending amendments to the proposed rule that would, if adopted by the District’s Governing Board, remove the proposed restrictions on the use of reclaimed water and recycled storm water. On Tuesday, District staff also will seek permission from the Board to publish a Notice of Proposed Rule Development and thereby initiate a separate rulemaking process for those provisions.

"The District’s intent from the beginning has been to promote conservation of water from all sources to achieve the greatest water savings. Reclaimed water is a resource that needs to be used efficiently and stretched as far as possible," said Hal Wilkening, director of the District’s Department of Resource Management.

"But because we feel strongly about the importance of identifying specific watering days and reducing irrigation during the cooler months, we don’t want to see implementation of these provisions delayed because of a possible rule challenge regarding the reclaimed water provisions. By initiating a separate rulemaking process on the proposed reclaimed water provisions, we will be able to move forward now to strengthen the rules while continuing to work with the reclaimed water utilities and other interested persons."

The public hearing and Board vote on the irrigation amendments is scheduled for the District’s Governing Board meeting on Dec. 9. If approved at the December hearing, the irrigation rule amendments, other than the reclaimed and stormwater provisions, are planned to be effective March 8, 2009.

For information about the rule and its exceptions, visit the District’s Web site at http://www.sjrwmd.com/irrigationrule/index.html.