Board adopts changes to landscape irrigation rule

Board adopts changes to landscape irrigation rule

PALATKA, Fla. - The St. Johns River Water Management District’s Governing Board adopted rule amendments on December 9 that will tighten the District’s irrigation restrictions, effective March 8, 2009.

Under the amended rule, landscape irrigation will be limited to two days a week during daylight saving time and one day a week during Eastern Standard Time.

The amended rule also sets the days of the week that residential and non-residential users can 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 will 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 is allowed between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., as in the current rule.

Additionally, under the amended rule, landscape irrigation will 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.

To strengthen enforcement, the rule encourages local governments to adopt ordinances that are consistent with the District’s rule.

The Board also approved an amendment to remove proposed restrictions on the use of reclaimed water and recycled storm water and gave permission to initiate a separate rulemaking process for those provisions. Some reclaimed water utilities have expressed concern about those provisions in the irrigation rule amendments, mostly due to facility and infrastructure limitations.

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