The voluntary water restrictions imposed by the Suwannee River Water Management District will become mandatory on June 13 following a decision by its Governing Board during a Tuesday evening meeting.

Watering will be determined by address.

“Even with recent rainfall from Tropical Depression Beryl, water levels are not expected to significantly improve,” SRWMD Senior Professional Engineer Megan Wetherington said.

According to Wetherington, the system provided assistance to our water levels, but major improvements are not expected in most areas of the District.

This is the first time the SRWMD Governing Board has implemented the Phase III Water Shortage Order, which will go into effect on June 13. The order, which comes in response to extreme drought conditions, does not include all areas within the district’s boundaries and calls for conservation of all water uses.

Restrictions, and some exemptions, will apply to residential, agricultural, commercial and industrial users in all of Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Madison, Suwannee, Taylor and Union counties, and portions of Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Jefferson, Levy and Putnam counties.

“Drought conditions have prompted the need to enact water use restrictions to reduce demands for water and stretch our water supplies during the drought,” SRWMD Acting Executive Director Charlie Houder said.

The demands placed on water have caught the attention of citizens throughout North Florida.

“Water is a precious commodity and we need to protect it,” Suwannee County resident Kenny Gill emphasized.

According to the SRWMD, lawn and landscape irrigation accounts for more than half of the total water use in many Florida households. Therefore, the District has established an irrigation schedule based upon the home address numbering system for homeowners to follow.

When watering lawns and landscape with sprinklers and irrigation systems, the watering must be done between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., and watering is to be limited to once per week during the water shortage order.

Consumers with addresses ending in 0 or 1 may water on Mondays, those with addresses ending in 2 or 3 will be allowed to water on Tuesdays, consumers with addresses ending in 4 or 5 will be permitted to water on Wednesdays and water users with addresses ending in 6 or 7 will be allowed to water their lawn and landscape on Thursdays. Fridays are designated for residents with addresses ending in 8 or 9 to water their lawn and landscape. Areas with no address and community common areas are set aside for Friday watering as well.

According to the SRWMD, home vegetable gardens are exempt from the restrictions and the district will allow cleaning and maintenance of irrigation systems to maintain efficient operation of the systems. Each irrigation zone may be tested once per week. In addition, insecticides, herbicides and fungicides may be watered in as required by federal, state and local requirements, but shall be limited to the minimum volume necessary and must occur between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

The mandatory restrictions will be more lenient for new lawns and landscapes. For the first 60 days, new lawns and landscapes may be watered between the hours of 4 p.m. and 10 a.m., and watering is to be limited to the minimum amount required for establishment.

According to the SRWMD, many agricultural irrigation systems have been retrofitted to increase efficiency and reduce total water use. Systems that have been certified by an independent irrigation laboratory and found to be compliant with applicable water conservation best management practices are not restricted. The certification must be within the past five years prior to the effective date of the water shortage order. In addition, there are no restrictions for the use of treated wastewater for irrigation or low pressure or low volume irrigation systems.

Some areas of agricultural restrictions include overhead irrigation by high pressure/high volume systems between the hours of 12 p.m. and 9 p.m. and unnecessary discharge of irrigation water or off-site discharge from irrigation systems. The District has also called for the suspension of activities which stimulate the need for increased irrigation, as feasible and appropriate.

Mining restrictions include using on-site impounded surface waters to replace fresh water withdrawals and reducing the spraying for dust control in quarry area, except for health and safety needs. In addition, off-site discharges of water shall be reduced or eliminated, according to the SRWMD.

The hours for watering golf course greens and tees have been restricted to the hours of 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. The hours for irrigating fairways, roughs, and non-play areas on the front nine holes of the course are 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. on odd-numbered days and watering of those areas on the back nine holes are limited to the same hours on even-numbered days.

According to the SRWMD, washing or cleaning streets, driveways, sidewalks, or other impervious areas with water is prohibited except to meet federal, state, or local health or safety standards. In addition, outside pressure cleaning shall be restricted to only low-volume methods.

Other restrictions include interior and exterior aesthetic uses of water, such as fountains. Individuals and businesses are permitted to wash vehicles once per week, on the designated watering day for the location. Fundraising and commercial car washes, including mobile detail businesses, may operate on any day. Emergency and other first responder vehicles may be washed on any day as needed.

In addition to outdoor restrictions, the District asks residents and businesses to conserve water indoors by taking steps, such as fixing leaks and upgrading plumbing fixtures to water conserving models.

Such ideas echoed the thoughts of local resident Jimmy Pruitt.

“If anybody cares at all about our water, they would put themselves on water restriction,” Pruitt said.

For a detailed list of all restrictions on water use, visit the water shortage page on the District’s website at www.mysuwanneeriver.com.