Miami-Dade and Broward watering restrictions

Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department sets the days above for homes and businesses, and asks you to use one of the two windows on each watering day, the morning or the evening. The restriction covers any water source, including private wells, canals and lakes.

Exceptions listed by the county: new landscaping may be watered every day except Friday for its first 90 days. Low volume irrigation such as drip and micro jets is not restricted, though the county asks you to reduce it. Properties irrigated with reclaimed water are exempt. Car and boat washing, pressure cleaning, fountains and pools are not covered by the restriction.

Broward follows the same two day schedule under the South Florida Water Management District rules: odd addresses on Wednesday and Saturday, even addresses on Thursday and Sunday, from midnight to 10am and from 4pm to midnight. There is no lawn watering on Monday, Tuesday or Friday. Properties on reclaimed water may water any day, before 10am.

Some cities publish their own schedules or stricter rules, and during a drought the water district can cut the days further. If your city has its own page, it takes precedence over this summary.

Set the program days on the controller to your two legal days, and start early. Broward's water conservation staff recommend starting between about 5 and 7 in the morning, when there is less wind and evaporation.

Florida law, section 373.62 of the Florida Statutes, requires automatic sprinkler systems to have working technology, usually a rain or soil moisture sensor, that stops the cycle when there has been enough rain. If yours is missing, broken or permanently bypassed, it is worth fixing.

We program controllers to the legal days, check that every zone covers its area in the time allowed, and install or repair rain and moisture sensors across Miami-Dade and Broward.

The days are the same everywhere, but these cities, or the utility that supplies them, set narrower hours than their county. NMB Water, run by North Miami Beach, also supplies Aventura and part of Miami Gardens. Homestead has its own ordinance through HPS Water, and Fort Lauderdale has published its own hours and run-time limits, so check with those two cities before setting a timer.

Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department offers homes with a working in-ground sprinkler system a free irrigation evaluation and a rebate of up to $500 a year, for up to five years, on the improvements it recommends: sensors, controllers, zoning, heads and low volume irrigation among them.

The county evaluates the system before and after the work and asks for an itemized invoice showing parts and labor, paid in full. We can make the recommended changes and give you that invoice. Confirm the current conditions with the county before you start.