Oct 9, 2008 5:49 pm US/Eastern
Get Ready For Water Restrictions Being Year Round
WEST PALM BEACH (CBS4) ―
Even though rain and storms have dumped a lot of rain over the area, that's not going to change watering restrictions. Thursday, the South Florida Water Management District agreed by a 7 to 1 vote to move ahead and process the proposal to conserve water by having year round water restrictions.
The restriction would limit landscape irrigation to two days per week, and would have to be before 10 a.m. or after 4 p.m. The use of treated wastewater, or reclaimed water, and water from rain-harvesting systems such as rain barrels and cisterns would be permitted any day. The proposed rule will save residents money, encourage more efficient use of water supplies and save Florida's water.
During the water shortages two-day-a-week irrigation restrictions, in seven counties there was a total savings of 138.8 million gallons per day. Four of the counties-Collier, Lee, Martin and Palm Beach- saved more than 20% water under the two day schedule.
Details of the proposed rule were discussed in seven public workshops held throughout the District during the past year. The District also prepared a State of Estimated Regulatory Cost (SERC), which evaluates costs associated with this new proposal.
On Thursday, a vote authorized the District to publish a Notice of Rulemaking in the Florida Administrative Weekly, in the notice it specified the proposed rule and a summary of the SERC. A public hearing before the governing Board will be held in December to vote on the rule and if approved it would go into effect in February.
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