St. Lucie County, FL Water Use Rules: Recycled Water Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Reclaimed water definition
- Secondary-treated, disinfected wastewater (F.A.C. 62-40.210)
- Art. X status
- Exempt from landscape irrigation schedule entirely
- Art. IX status
- Exempt from 4 p.m.-10 a.m. hour rule
- Also exempt with reclaimed water
- Agriculture, nurseries, athletic play areas
- Governing sections
- St. Lucie County Code §§ 20-298, 20-305, 20-306
Summary
St. Lucie County's landscape irrigation ordinance exempts reclaimed water users entirely from its two-day-a-week watering schedule and daytime irrigation ban. Reclaimed water use, agricultural and nursery irrigation, and athletic-field irrigation all fall outside the ordinance, and the county's separate water-shortage rules give reclaimed-water end users their own carve-out from standard irrigation hours.
The provisions of this article shall apply to each user, as defined in section 20-305(15), providing landscape irrigation from all water resources within the boundaries of the unincorporated St. Lucie County with the following exceptions: (1)The use of reclaimed water, which may or may not be supplemented from another source;(2)Irrigation at agricultural and nursery operations; and(3)Irrigation of athletic play areas.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 32 | Land Development Code: Supplement 36).
Full Breakdown
St. Lucie County treats reclaimed water differently from potable irrigation water in two places in its water code. C. 210. Section 20-306 then lists the article's exceptions to applicability, and the use of reclaimed water, which may or may not be supplemented from another source, is exempt outright from the article's watering-day and watering-hour restrictions, alongside irrigation at agricultural and nursery operations and irrigation of athletic play areas. unless the county or the South Florida Water Management District has declared a shortage, but subsection (b)(2) excuses reclaimed water end users from that time window along with microirrigation systems and low-volume hand watering.
Both exemptions track a policy of treating reclaimed water as a conservation tool rather than a resource to be rationed like potable supply, so a property irrigating with reclaimed water does not have to observe the county's two-day-a-week schedule or the standard overnight watering hours that apply to everyone else drawing from other water resources.
Violations & Fines
Because reclaimed water use is exempt, there is no separate reclaimed-water violation to cite. Violating the underlying irrigation schedule as a non-reclaimed-water user is enforced under section 20-312 and penalized under section 20-313: each day of continuing noncompliance is a separate offense, though a first-time violator gets no more than one written warning within a six-month period.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I water my lawn with reclaimed water anytime in St. Lucie County?
What counts as reclaimed water under St. Lucie County's code?
Are farms and golf courses also exempt from the irrigation schedule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in St. Lucie County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare St. Lucie County to another location·View the Florida water use rules overview
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