Manatee County, FL Water Use Rules: Recycled Water Rules (2026)

C. Reclaimed water is defined as water that has received at least advanced secondary treatment and is reused after leaving a wastewater treatment facility. Under Sec. 2-31-142, a property is "available" for service once a functioning distribution main sits within 100 feet, and a 75-foot buffer zone must separate any potable well from the area wetted by reclaimed irrigation. A "significant user" is anyone the director determines uses more than a yearly average of one million gallons per month, excluding the article's eight named existing users such as Manatee Fruit Company and area country clubs.

Sec. 2-31-143 lets customers in designated service areas connect once service is available; subdivisions and multifamily complexes need a petition from at least 50 percent of residents. Approved backflow prevention devices are required on any irrigation well tied to the reclaimed system, and concurrent feed from a well and reclaimed water is barred outright. Public-access reuse areas must post bilingual English/Spanish advisory signs at prominent entrances, though individual residences are exempt. Sec. 2-31-150 separately bars installing a potable-supply well inside an FDEP-mandated buffer zone around existing or known reuse sites, calling it unlawful and an offense against the county. Service inside a municipality's limits needs open-session board approval and only after unincorporated-area needs are met, per Sec. 2-31-152.