Thursday, March 15, 2007
Turn off those sprinklers: Lawn-watering restrictions are returning to South Florida.
Water managers voted today to impose three-day-a-week limits for sprinklers from Palm Beach County to the Keys, saying it’s time for residents and businesses throughout the region to share the pain of a drought that shows no signs of ending.
Water restrictions go into effect March 22 in Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties:
• Odd-numbered addresses can water on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
• Even-numbered addresses and properties without an address can water on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
• No watering allowed on Fridays.
• Properties with 5 acres or less of irrigated area: Sprinklers can run from 4 to 8 a.m. on allowed watering days. Hand-watering with one hose and an automatic shutoff nozzle is allowed from 5 to 7 p.m. on the same days.
• Properties with more than 5 acres of irrigated area: Sprinklers can run from 12:01 to 8 a.m. on allowed watering days.
• Residents can wash cars and boats from 4 to 8 a.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. on allowed watering days. Washing must be on or drain into unpaved ground.
• Washing and rinsing streets, driveways and sidewalks is prohibited at all times except when using low-volume pressure-cleaning equipment.
• The limits apply to water from lakes, canals and private wells as well as public utilities.
Exceptions:
• No limits apply to irrigation with recycled sewage.
• New landscaping can be watered at any time by hand with one hose and an automatic shutoff nozzle.
• Sprinkling of newly planted landscaping is allowed from Monday through Friday for the first 30 days. Permitted hours: 2 to 8 a.m. for properties with less than five acres, 12:01 to 8 a.m. for properties with more than 5 acres.
• Filling and refilling of swimming pools is allowed. Anyone emptying a pool must drain onto a lawn or other unpaved surface.
• Recirculating fountains are allowed if they don’t leak, overflow or otherwise waste water.
The restrictions take effect March 22. Enforcement will be up to the cities and counties, which can impose penalties ranging from warnings to fines exceeding $100.
Meanwhile, the board of the South Florida Water Management District approved a 30-percent cutback for the water it supplies to growers that depend on Lake Okeechobee, the St. Lucie Canal and the Caloosahatchee River.
For more information: South Florida Water Management District, www.sfwmd.gov or (561)686-8800
Agree. I will put on my lawn sprinkler less.