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According to the University of Florida, IFAS Extension: overall, homeowners over-water by as much as 2–3 times the amount needed by the plants, based on estimates of climate demand.
Since 1991, Miami-Dade County (“County”) has had a landscape irrigation ordinance, codified in Section 32-8.2 of the County Code, to help protect our environment by encouraging more responsible use of water resources.
These restrictions are based off of general landscaping water needs in Florida. In general, a healthy landscape only needs 3/4 to 1 inch of water per week during the summer growing season and only as needed to supplement rainfall. During the winter season, when a lawn goes dormant, it requires even less.
The County’s two-day a week landscape irrigation ordinance is applicable across the County to all users of any water sources, including public or privately owned water utilities, private wells, and any private connections with surface water bodies including canals and lakes. Water restrictions are permanent and enforced year-round. To learn more about the County’s water restrictions, click here.
Recently, the South Florida Water Management District requested that all municipalities, including Key Biscayne, adopt the District’s model ordinance implementing landscape irrigation conservation measures to bring greater awareness to existing landscape irrigation measures. Key Biscayne has acknowledged the importance of implementing these landscape irrigation measures to protect and preserve Key Biscayne’s precious water supply and ecosystems.
The Village Council recently approved the Landscape Irrigation Ordinance to advance the sustainable use of water resources in Key Biscayne. The Village’s proposed Ordinance is identical in nearly all respects to the County’s existing ordinance and the South Florida Water Management District’s model ordinance, which Village residents are likely already familiar with.
As per the ordinance, Village residents may:
- Continue irrigating two-days a week before 10:00 a.m. or after 4:00 p.m.; days depend on whether the property address is odd-numbered or even-numbered
- Continue watering using methods such as hoses with nozzle attachments and watering cans, which are low volume irrigation, without regard to schedule restrictions.
For more information about the Village’s landscape irrigation ordinance, please contact Chief Resilience Officer Dr. Roland Samimy.
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