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

Sec. 105 sets Leon County's fertilizer content and application standards for turf and landscape plants in the unincorporated county, and subsection (f) extends those standards to irrigation supplied by a reclaimed wastewater system. Anyone using reclaimed water for irrigation must operate under an approved reclaimed wastewater reuse nutrient management plan, and that plan must specify, at a minimum, how often and how much reclaimed water will be applied, any restricted application periods, the application rate, and the best management practices that will be followed. 5-pound-per-1,000-square-foot nitrogen application cap in subsection (b) and the ban on winter nitrogen application in subsection (d).

The reclaimed water rule sits inside the county's broader fertilizer ordinance, which also bans applying fertilizer of any kind during a National Weather Service flood, tropical storm or hurricane watch or warning, or when an inch or more of rain is forecast in 24 hours, and requires a 15-foot fertilizer-free buffer from ponds, lakes, streams and wetlands under Sec. 107. Applicators must be trained and certified and must be present on-site during application under Sec. 111.