Monroe County, FL Water Use Rules: Recycled Water Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Exempt source
- Reclaimed, effluent, cistern, or desalinated water
- Governing law
- Monroe County Code §§ 12-79, 12-83
- Applies to
- Unincorporated Monroe County only
- Restriction it exempts from
- 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and set watering days
- Penalty for violation
- Up to $500.00 civil infraction, Sec. 12-84
Summary
In the unincorporated Florida Keys (Monroe County), landscape irrigation that draws solely from reclaimed water, treated wastewater effluent, cistern water, or desalinated water is excused from the county's year-round watering restrictions under Code of Ordinances Article IV. Section 12-79 lists the use of reclaimed water as one of the built-in exceptions to the entire irrigation-conservation article, so Keys property owners on treated effluent can irrigate without regard to the article's hour and day limits.
The provisions of this article shall apply to each user, as defined in section 12-81, providing landscape irrigation from all water resources with the following exceptions: (a)The use of reclaimed water, which may or may not be supplemented from another source; ... (a)Violations of the provisions of this article may be punished, pursuant to F.S. § 162.21, as a civil infraction with a maximum civil penalty not to exceed $500.00, as set forth in the county code enforcement citation system.
Full Breakdown
Monroe County's irrigation-conservation article, Sections 12-79 through 12-85 of the County Code, sets year-round landscape watering rules for the unincorporated Florida Keys, from Key Largo through Big Pine Key and Stock Island. 210. Section 12-83 separately exempts landscape irrigation systems whose sole source is reclaimed water, treated wastewater effluent, cistern water, or desalinated water from the article's day-and-hour schedule, so a Keys homeowner on a reclaimed-water line is not bound by the watering calendar that governs potable-water users. 00 through the county's code-enforcement citation system, with each day of a violation counted as a separate offense; collected fines go to the county general fund.
Because reclaimed water use falls outside the article's coverage in the first place, a property irrigating exclusively with it is not subject to citation for watering outside the permitted days or hours that govern potable-water customers elsewhere in unincorporated Monroe County.
Violations & Fines
Watering with anything other than reclaimed water, cistern water, treated effluent, or desalinated water outside the article's allowed hours and days is a civil infraction under Section 12-84: a citation carries a fine up to $500.00, issued by county code compliance through the citation system, and each additional day of noncompliance counts as a separate violation. Falsely claiming the reclaimed-water exemption to dodge the watering schedule exposes the same $500.00 maximum penalty.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Monroe County require special approval to irrigate with reclaimed water?
What counts as reclaimed water under the county code?
Can code compliance still cite a reclaimed-water user for something else?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Monroe County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Monroe County to another location·View the Florida water use rules overview
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