Alachua County, FL Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)

Section 77.49 splits Alachua County's landscape watering schedule by the calendar and by address. While Daylight Saving Time runs (the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November), residential irrigation at odd-numbered addresses, or properties with no address, is limited to Wednesday and Saturday; even-numbered addresses water Thursday and Sunday; and non-residential landscape irrigation is limited to Tuesday and Friday. None of those windows may run between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., and the code further caps each zone at three-fourths inch of water and one hour of run time per watering day, regardless of season.

Once Eastern Standard Time takes over (the first Sunday in November to the second Sunday in March), the schedule tightens to a single day each: odd addresses water Saturday only, even addresses water Sunday only, and non-residential property waters Tuesday only, with the same 10 a.m.-to-4 p.m. blackout and the same three-fourths-inch, one-hour-per-zone cap. All irrigation, on any schedule, is limited to the amount actually needed to meet landscape needs under § 77.49(c). A property owner who believes strict compliance would cause a substantial economic, health, or other hardship, including where a contiguous property is divided into separate irrigation zones, can seek a variance from the Director of the Environmental Protection Department under § 77.51, though even a granted variance can't exceed two irrigation days per week during Daylight Saving Time or one day per week during Eastern Standard Time.