Summary of Florida's Water Reuse Guideline or Regulation for Landscaping

This page is part of the EPA’s REUSExplorer tool, which summarizes the different state level regulations or guidelines for water reuse for a variety of sources and end-uses.
The source water for this summary is Treated Municipal Wastewater.

On this page:

• Technical basis
• Water reuse for landscaping approved for use in Florida
• Water reuse treatment category for landscaping
• Additional context and definitions
• Water reuse for landscaping specifications (table)
• Upcoming state law or policy
• References
• Disclaimer

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This page is a summary of the state’s water reuse law or policy and is provided for informational purposes only. Please always refer to the state for the most accurate and updated information. 

In Florida, water reuse for landscaping water reuse for landscapingThe use of recycled water on land to assist in the irrigation of vegetation in residential and non-residential areas. Includes impoundments to store water for irrigation , ornamental vegetation, parks, school yards, sporting facilities (including golf courses), private gardens, roadsides and greenbelts, and cemeteries. Excludes irrigation of areas used for agriculture, commercial reuse applications, or any centralized non-potable reuse. includes irrigation of areas that are intended to be accessible to the public, which may include private property that is not open to the public at large but is intended for frequent use by many persons. The source of water (treated municipal wastewater) treated municipal wastewater Treated wastewater effluent discharged from a centralized wastewater treatment plant of any size. Other terms referring to this source of water include domestic wastewater, treated wastewater effluent, reclaimed water, and treated sewage. is specified by the state as domestic wastewater. This write-up uses state terms when discussing sources or uses of water that may differ from the Regulations and End-Use Specifications Explorer's (REUSExplorer's) terms.

Technical basis

Florida approves the reuse of treated domestic wastewater for landscape irrigation in areas with public access (Fla. Admin. Code r. 62-610). All applicable provisions of the Clean Water Act (CWA) (33 U.S.C. §§ 1251 et seq.), including its implementing regulations, must be met. The reclaimed water application systems are defined by their respective treatment requirements and applicable performance standards, as well as their respective system mechanics and degree of public access (definitions of each application system approved for water reuse for landscaping are provided in the section). All application systems must receive secondary treatment with disinfection (Fla. Admin. Code r. 62-600.440). Disinfection type (“basic” or “high-level”) and performance standards (i.e., microbial specifications) vary with each application system. Treatment requirements and performance standards are applied for the removal of microbial contaminants, chemicals and other relevant indicators for water reuse for landscaping and are summarized in the table. The technical basis for developing the specifications and/or removals of microbial contaminants, chemicals and other relevant indicators is not explicitly specified.

Water reuse for landscaping approved for use in Florida

Fla. Admin. Code r. 62-610 defines the following approved water reuse for landscaping:

• The irrigation of areas that are intended to be accessible to the public, such as residential lawns, golf courses, cemeteries, parks, landscape areas and highway medians (Slow-rate Land Application Systems; Public Access Areas, Residential Irrigation and Edible Crops) (Fla. Admin. Code r. 62-610)
  • Public access areas may include private property that is not open to the public at large but is intended for frequent use by many persons. 

Water reuse treatment category for landscaping

The respective treatment requirements are briefly summarized for water reuse for landscaping (Fla. Admin. Code r. 62-610): 

• For “Slow-rate Land Application Systems; Public Access Areas, Residential Irrigation, and Edible Crops,” at a minimum, secondary treatment and high-level disinfection are required. 

Treatment facilities providing “high-level disinfection” must meet the following criteria using either membrane filtration or equivalent MPN methods (Fla. Admin. Code r. 62-610.410):

• Over a 30-day period (monthly), 75% of the fecal coliform values shall be below the detection limits.
• Single sample maximum of 25 fecal coliforms/100 mL of reclaimed water or effluent sample.
• Single sample maximum of 5 mg/L of total suspended solids at a point before application of the disinfectant.
• When chlorine is used for disinfection, a total chlorine residual of ≥ 1.0 mg/L shall be maintained at all times. The minimum acceptable contact time is 15 minutes at the peak hourly flow. Rapid and uniform mixing are required. At new or expanded treatment facilities, the contact time at peak hourly flow should be ≥25 minutes if ≤1,000 fecal coliforms/100 mL are present in samples, ≥40 minutes if 1,000–10,000 fecal coliforms/100 mL are present in samples and ≥120 minutes if ≥10,000 fecal coliforms/100 mL are present in samples.

Additional context and definitions

In Florida, restricted access means that access to the reuse site by the general public is controlled and access to the reuse site by the public is infrequent. These sites are accessible to authorized operators (Fla. Admin. Code r. 62-610).

“Slow-rate Land Application Systems; Public Access Areas, Residential Irrigation, and Edible Crops” refers to the type of reuse systems that involve the irrigation of areas that are intended to be accessible to the public, such as residential lawns, golf courses, cemeteries, parks, landscape areas and highway medians (Fla. Admin. Code r. 62-610.450). 

Slow-rate land application systems involve the “application of reclaimed water to a vegetated land surface with the applied reclaimed water being treated as it flows through the plant-soil matrix. A portion of the flow percolates to the ground water and some is used by the vegetation. Offsite surface runoff of the applied reclaimed water is generally avoided. Surface application techniques include ridge-and-furrow and border strip flooding. Spray irrigation systems can use fixed risers or moving systems, such as center pivots” (Fla. Admin. Code r. 62-610).

Florida requires that the public be notified of the use of reclaimed water using advisory signs designating the nature of the reuse project area where reuse is practiced, notes on scorecards or by other methods. The use of purple as a prominent color on these advisory signs and written notices is recommended, but not be required. Advisory signs should include, in English and Spanish, “Do not drink” together with the equivalent standard international symbol (Fla. Admin. Code r. 62-610). No cross-connections to potable water are allowed. Specifically, in public access areas where slow-rate land application systems are used, “all reclaimed water valves and outlets shall be appropriately tagged or labeled (bearing the words in English and Spanish: “Do not drink” together with the equivalent standard international symbol) to warn the public and employees that the water is not intended for drinking. All piping, pipelines, valves and outlets shall be color coded, or otherwise marked, to differentiate reclaimed water from domestic or other water. Underground piping which is not manufactured of metal or concrete, should be color coded for reclaimed water distribution systems using Pantone Purple 522C and underground metal and concrete pipe should be color coded or marked using purple as a predominant color. If tape is used to mark the pipe, the tape should be permanently affixed to the top and each side of the pipe. Visible, above-ground portions of the reclaimed water distribution system shall be clearly color coded or marked. It is recommended that distribution and application facilities located on private properties, including residential properties, be color coded using Pantone Purple 522C” (Fla. Admin. Code r. 62-610).

Water reuse for landscaping specifications

Summary of Florida's Water Reuse for Landscaping Specifications

Source= Fla. Admin. Code r. 62-610, Fla. Admin. Code r. 62-610.410

* Information about sampling and monitoring requirements such as frequency, site and quantification methods not specifically listed in the table was not explicitly specified in the State-specific regulations.

Upcoming state law or policy

No upcoming regulations pertaining to water reuse for landscaping were found for Florida.

References

Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. §§ 1251 et seq.

Description of System, Fla. Admin. Code r. 62-610.450.

Disinfection Requirements, Fla. Admin. Code r. 52-600.440.

Reuse of Reclaimed Water, § 403-064, Fla. Stat. (2021).

Reuse of Reclaimed Water and Land Application, Fla. Admin. Code r. 62-610.

Waste Treatment and Disinfection, Fla. Admin. Code r. 62-610.410.

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Disclaimers

Please contact us at waterreuse@epa.gov if the information on this page needs updating or if this state is updating or planning to update its laws and policies and we have not included that information on the news page.