Water Use Rules in Florida (2026)

Unincorporated Broward County requires residential lots to keep 10 to 35 percent of their area in turf or groundcover…

Doral caps how much of a landscaped lot can be grass. Residential and mixed-use lots top out at 60 percent of required…

Homestead's landscape ordinance caps how much of a development's open space can be planted in grass: 60 percent of…

Lee County's Landscape Code makes water conservation an explicit design goal, and backs it with a number: LDC §…

Martin County's landscape standards cap where irrigated turfgrass can go: new development landscape plans can only…

Miramar's landscaping code caps gravel, stone, concrete, asphalt, and synthetic turf at 10 percent of any landscaped…

New Port Richey's Land Development Code caps high water-use turf at 75% of landscaped area and requires irrigated…

City of Sarasota caps high-water turfgrass and sod at 50% of a site's irrigated landscape area on covered development…

West Palm Beach's landscape code caps how much of a nonresidential or multifamily project's required open space can be…

Winter Haven caps the maximum irrigated area on a residential lot at 10,000 square feet and limits high-volume…

Nassau County's landscaping code asks new development to design with xeriscape principles: watering zones grouped by…

St. Petersburg City Code § 16.40.060.1.3 pays builders to skip water-hungry St. Augustine sod: new one- and two-unit…

WASD offers conservation rebates for replacing high-water-use turf with Florida-friendly landscaping, micro-irrigation…

Orlando supports Florida-Friendly Landscaping principles, allowing residents to replace thirsty turf with…

Tampa encourages Florida-Friendly Landscaping conversions that replace high-water turfgrass with native plants…

The Collier County Water-Sewer District delivers IQ Water, also called reclaimed or reuse water, to homes, golf courses…

Boca Raton's Reclaimed Water Service Ordinance requires new commercial, industrial, golf-course and common-area…

Developments within a quarter mile of a Broward County reclaimed water main must extend the line and connect, and are…

Clearwater bans irrigation with reclaimed (recycled) water between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. every day of the week under…

Cocoa requires every new development to install a reclaimed water distribution system for irrigating landscaping…

Where reclaimed water lines reach a property, Jacksonville requires connection and bans potable water for irrigation…

City of Melbourne requires properties inside its designated north and south reuse service areas to hook existing…

In unincorporated Nassau County, Sec. 30¾-38 requires new or redeveloped property to connect to Nassau Amelia…

New Port Richey bans potable-water irrigation and new irrigation wells within 100 feet of reclaimed water lines…

Pasco County heavily restricts its purple-pipe reclaimed water system under section 110-78: irrigation only, no…

Tampa bans reclaimed (recycled) water for drinking, swimming pools, hosing down interior floors, or hooking into…

In unincorporated Volusia County, using potable water for irrigation becomes unlawful once reclaimed water is available…

Boynton Beach's Utilities Department regulates reclaimed water under Code § 26-500 et seq. Connections require a…

Unincorporated Brevard County restricts reclaimed (reuse) water to irrigation, fire protection and similar outdoor uses…

Cape Coral forces private well owners off groundwater once a reclaimed water main reaches their property in areas hit…

Charlotte County Utilities supplies reclaimed water for irrigation once a customer signs a service agreement, installs…

New development inside Citrus County's Cardinal Street Interim Master Area, the Cardinal Mixed Use (CMU) District along…

Davie designated a Mandatory Reuse Zone requiring properties within it to hook up to reclaimed water once service is…

Daytona Beach requires new developments within its reuse master plan area to install a reuse (reclaimed) water…

Deltona supplies treated reclaimed wastewater for landscape irrigation to residential and commercial customers under a…

Fort Lauderdale treats reclaimed water as a cross-connection hazard, not a free substitute for potable supply. Code…

Fort Myers reclaimed water service is bulk-only: for industrial/agricultural users and new residential subdivisions…

Gainesville Regional Utilities will not install a new water meter for irrigation-only service if reclaimed water…

Gulfport bars any direct connection between a reclaimed water irrigation line and a customer's potable water pipes…

Reclaimed water use in unincorporated Hillsborough County is voluntary except where a development's wastewater permit…

Hollywood requires industrial and commercial properties with more than one acre of irrigable land, including golf…

Largo splits reclaimed water irrigation into two zones under City Code § 23-93. Addresses ending in an even number or a…

Every customer of a Lee County Utilities reclaimed water system needs a permit before connecting, applied for at least…

Leon County requires anyone irrigating turf with reclaimed wastewater to follow an approved nutrient management plan…

Manatee County's reclaimed water article lets the utility operations department extend reused wastewater for irrigation…

Martin County's groundwater protection article requires development projects to hook into irrigation-quality reclaimed…

Miami-Dade County requires water customers who use reclaimed water as an auxiliary supply to install a backflow…

West of Palm Avenue, in Miramar's designated reclaimed water service area, Code of Ordinances Section 21-296 forces…

Okaloosa County requires the use of reclaimed water in place of potable water for irrigation wherever the reclaimed…

Orange County Utilities bars cross-connections between reclaimed and potable water and can cut off service for unsafe…

Orlando requires property owners to connect to the city's reclaimed water system once the Director of Public Works…

Palm Coast exempts reclaimed water irrigation from its landscape watering schedule entirely: reclaimed water can be…

Unincorporated Pinellas properties on the county reclaimed water system may only run sprinklers on assigned days each…

Pompano Beach Code § 54.04 requires public, commercial, office, industrial, warehouse and multifamily properties to…

Port Orange sorts reclaimed-water customers into residential, institutional and major-user tiers under City Code §…

Port St. Lucie sells reclaimed (recycled) irrigation water through its own system, and Code Sec. 61.16 sets the terms…

City of Sarasota caps reclaimed water to irrigation, golf courses and cemeteries, bans it indoors and in pools, and…

Sarasota County requires every community water system whose service area overlaps a reclaimed water system to run a…

Seminole County requires customers to disconnect their irrigation from the potable water system within six months once…

St. Johns County's Land Development Code requires any new subdivision built around a golf course to install reclaimed…

St. Petersburg's Mayor can order reclaimed-water irrigation cut to three days a week for up to 90 days when the…

Sumter County restricts reclaimed water lines and irrigation near public wellfields. Wellhead protection zones extend…

Tallahassee limits reclaimed (recycled) water to approved uses like irrigation, fire protection, and dust control, and…

New residential, commercial and industrial development in Winter Haven's utility service area must connect to the…

Deerfield Beach's year-round irrigation schedule exempts reclaimed water users from its odd/even watering-day rule and…

North Port asks reclaimed water customers to avoid irrigating with reclaimed water between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily and…

Pembroke Pines Code of Ordinances § 155.666(G) lets property owners irrigate with reclaimed water for lawns, golf…

Titusville lets customers irrigate with recycled water from wet detention treatment ponds at any time, exempt from the…

Alachua County exempts reclaimed and recycled irrigation water from the day-of-week and time-of-day lawn watering…

Unincorporated Flagler County's irrigation-schedule limits do not apply to reclaimed or recycled water. Sec. 20-274…

Unincorporated Lake County exempts reclaimed and recycled irrigation water from the county's day-and-time watering…

Miami's water conservation ordinance regulates when residents may irrigate landscaping, but explicitly exempts…

Properties irrigating with treated effluent (reclaimed or recycled water) are exempt from Safety Harbor's…

The City of Satellite Beach exempts irrigation using reclaimed or recycled water from its landscape-irrigation…

St. Lucie County's landscape irrigation ordinance exempts reclaimed water users entirely from its two-day-a-week…

West Palm Beach's landscape-irrigation conservation rules, which restrict watering days and require efficient nozzles…

Alachua County Code § 77.63 requires irrigation system owners to catch and fix leaks themselves rather than report them…

Citrus County's water and wastewater service unit will credit part of a customer's bill after a leak on the owner's…

Dade City's water department will not adjust a bill or accept responsibility for water lost to a leak on the customer's…

Fort Myers water customers must keep their service pipe, stopcocks, and apparatus in good repair, prevent waste, and…

Hialeah residents who dispute a water or sewer bill because of a hidden leak must file written notice with the water…

Hollywood property owners, agents, and tenants must exercise due diligence to prevent water waste, immediately stop…

When Homestead finds a leak in a customer's private sewer lateral, lift station, or other private piping outside a…

Miami Beach City Code Sec. 110-43 makes it every property owner's, agent's or tenant's duty to stop leaks on their own…

In unincorporated Nassau County, Nassau Amelia Utilities (NAU) is not responsible for detecting or reporting leaks on…

Okaloosa County Water and Sewer makes property owners responsible for reporting and repairing any leak on a privately…

Palm Bay customers must stop leaks on their own property immediately and report any leak they discover on someone…

Pembroke Pines gives utility customers a path to a partial sewer credit when metered water leaks into the ground before…

Port Orange lets utility customers claim a sewer-charge credit after a leak, but only with real proof. City Code §…

Safety Harbor property owners must repair and pay for any water service pipe from the city meter inward, including…

In the City of Satellite Beach, Sec. 62-35(c) prohibits letting water escape through defective plumbing or knowingly…

When a city water meter sits on a private water system, Tallahassee code makes the property owner responsible for the…

West Palm Beach requires any water customer who suspects a leak on their side of the meter to hire a certified plumber…

A Daytona Beach customer whose water bill triples because of a hidden leak, not a running toilet, can get a partial…

Gainesville won't credit a water or wastewater bill for a leak that happens on the customer's side of the meter…

Jupiter Town Code § 20-94 lets a utility customer request an excessive usage credit for a promptly repaired…

Melbourne's city manager is authorized to adjust a water bill for excessive consumption caused by a leak, but only when…

Pasco County Utilities will adjust a customer's water bill for a verified plumbing leak or a one-time pool fill under…

St. Petersburg water customers who report and repair an involuntary leak can get relief on the resulting bill: City…