Alachua County, FL Water Use Rules: Recycled Water Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Alachua County Code § 77.50(g)-(h)
- Reclaimed water
- Allowed anytime, any day
- Detention-pond water
- Allowed if not augmented from other sources
- Base schedule
- § 77.49 day-of-week limits otherwise apply
Summary
Alachua County exempts reclaimed and recycled irrigation water from the day-of-week and time-of-day lawn watering schedule in § 77.49. Under § 77.50(g)-(h), irrigation using a reclaimed water system, or recycled water drawn from a wet detention pond that isn't topped off from groundwater or another public source, is allowed at any time of day, any day of the week.
(g)The use of water from a reclaimed water system is allowed anytime. For the purpose of this paragraph, a reclaimed water system includes systems in which the primary source is reclaimed water, which may or may not be supplemented from another source during peak demand periods.(h)The use of recycled water from wet detention treatment ponds for irrigation is allowed anytime provided the ponds are not augmented from any ground or off-site surface water, or public supply sources.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 63).
Full Breakdown
Most landscape irrigation in Alachua County is locked to the county's day-of-week watering schedule under § 77.49, but § 77.50 carves out several exceptions to that schedule, and reclaimed and recycled water are two of them. Paragraph (g) allows irrigation from a reclaimed water system at any time, any day, a 'reclaimed water system' is defined broadly to include systems whose primary source is reclaimed water even if that source is supplemented from elsewhere during peak demand periods, so a property doesn't lose the exemption just because it occasionally blends in another water source when reclaimed supply runs short.
Paragraph (h) does the same for recycled water pulled from a wet detention treatment pond, the retention ponds many subdivisions and commercial sites already have for stormwater management, but with a condition: the pond can't be augmented from groundwater, off-site surface water, or a public water supply. If the pond is topped up from any of those sources, the unlimited-schedule exception no longer applies and standard watering-day restrictions under § 77.49 govern instead. Both exceptions sit alongside other schedule carve-outs in the same section, including micro-irrigation, new-landscape establishment watering, hand-held hose watering with an automatic shut-off nozzle, and watering-in of chemicals within 24 hours of application.
Violations & Fines
Using reclaimed or recycled water outside the § 77.50 conditions, for example, irrigating from a detention pond that's been augmented with groundwater or public supply, removes the schedule exemption, and irrigating outside the § 77.49 watering days and hours then becomes a violation of Article V, enforced under § 77.53 with penalties available under Chapter 24 of the Alachua County Code or any other remedy at law or equity.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I water my lawn with reclaimed water any day I want in Alachua County?
Does water from my subdivision's retention pond count as an exception too?
What other irrigation is exempt from the watering schedule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Alachua County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Alachua County to another location·View the Florida water use rules overview
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