Watering Variance for irrigation of new lawns and plants:

Property owners should contact the Water Conservation Office to register a new landscape project and qualify for the following:

• On the day of installation, watering is allowed on any day at any time.
• Only one irrigation event per day per zone is allowed.
• On days 1-30, beginning on the day of installation, new lawns and plants may be watered any day of the week, before 10 a.m. or after 4 p.m.
• On days 31-60, new lawns and plants may be watered as follows: Even-numbered addresses may only water on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Odd-numbered addresses may only water on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. Common areas, mixed even/odd addresses, and location with no address may water on Sunday, Tuesday and Friday. Call the County Extension Office (941) 722-4524 to receive additional information on plant establishment periods.

NOTE: The property owner or manager shall, upon request, provide a receipt or other proof of qualification for the new plant establishment period or other claimed exemption or allowance.

All new plant material (new or replacement sod or new plants/shrubs) must cover at least 50% of an irrigation zone in order to water with an in-ground sprinkler system during the establishment period. If not, the new plant material must be hand watered following the same time of day and day of week restrictions for new plant establishment. (Example: If you purchased one flat of grass plugs to place throughout your front yard to fill in bare spots, this would not cover 50% or an irrigation zone. Hand watering would be required.)

Also, only those zones containing 50% new plant material may be watered, not the entire yard. (Example: If you had your entire front yard re-sodded, but not your backyard, only those zones covering the front yard may run during the establishment period. The backyard zones would have to remain on the regular watering schedule. Most irrigation timers have an A & B program. Program A can be set for the regular watering. Program B can be programmed for multiple days to only water those zones containing the new plant material during the establishment period.)

Failure to contact the Water Conservation Department may result in a warning notice or citation. 

Please note, receiving a Watering Variance does not qualify you for a credit on your utility bill. We do not offer discounts for potable water used for irrigation. The maximum monthly wastewater charge for residential individually metered customer is capped at 10,000 gallons of potable water consumption. To verify current utility rates,  click here. 

A FREE irrigation and landscape evaluation is available to Manatee County residents at UF/IFAS Mobile Irrigation Lab. We encourage plantings to follow Florida-Friendly landscaping, saving you money, and conserving potable (drinking) water. Call 941-722-4524 for more information about your landscape and irrigation, or to set an appointment for your FREE evaluation.

Reclaimed Water

Irrigation using reclaimed water is not subject to watering restrictions, unless blended with another water source (including potable, wells, surface water sources such as ponds, lakes, rivers, etc.). 

However, it is encouraged to voluntarily conserve reclaimed water by not irrigating between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m, and to follow current watering guidelines in Manatee County.

Irrigation using reclaimed water that is mixed with any other water source, other than straight reclaimed water (including, but not limited to, wells, ponds, etc.), is subject to the same watering restrictions listed above under "Irrigation Hours & Restrictions".