Wellington, FL Water Use Rules: Recycled Water Rules (2026)

Chapter 9, Article III (Water Conservation) applies to every user who irrigates landscaping from a water resource in Wellington, but Section 9-25 carves out an exception for reclaimed water: irrigation from reclaimed sources falls outside the article's applicability entirely, so those users are not bound by the day-and-hour watering schedule set for potable and well-sourced irrigation, and they are unaffected even when the South Florida Water Management District declares a water shortage or water shortage emergency that would otherwise override local rules. Section 9-29(B) restates the exemption for the specific case of irrigation systems whose sole source is treated wastewater reuse, listing it alongside hand watering, recirculating ornamental water features, and firefighting or medical uses as activities exempt from the article's restrictions unless the District itself prohibits them.

Reclaimed water is defined in Section 9-27 as wastewater that has received at least secondary treatment and basic disinfection under Rule 62-40.210, F.A.C., and is reused after leaving a wastewater treatment facility. The exemption applies only to the irrigation itself; Wellington still requires, under Section 9-28(J), that any automatic irrigation system, reclaimed or otherwise, use technology that inhibits operation during periods of sufficient soil moisture in accordance with F.S. Section 373.62. Article IV's water-shortage provisions in Section 9-32 likewise state they do not apply to users using reclaimed water, keeping reclaimed-water irrigation outside the reach of District-triggered emergency curtailments that bind potable and well-water users.