By Tammy Roberts

Roberts@hometownnewsol.com

For the past 11 years, John and Meredith Pearce of Satellite Beach have devoted a lot of time to caring for their lawn and backyard garden.

Twice a week, they watered the lawn surrounding their canal-front home for about 45 minutes each day.

But now, the Pearces are among thousands of Florida residents who must abide by a set of new residential and non-residential watering regulations.

"We're fine with the change," said Mrs. Pearce, who worked at a local plant nursery for more than eight years. "I think what a lot of residents don't understand is that your lawn can become acclimated to not needing as much water. You can train your lawn to continue growing on a small amount of water each week."

Following a series of public and governmental meetings last year, the St. Johns River Water Management District established these new restrictions as a way to conserve water and ensure the efficient use of water for landscape irrigation, said Hank Largin, district spokesman.

"These meetings allowed us to take our rules and present them to the public and local governments and come back with the most efficient restrictions possible," Mr. Largin said.

A state of Florida agency, the St. Johns River Water Management District is a government entity responsible for balancing people's needs for water with the needs of nature, according to http://sjr.state.fl.us.

Florida is divided into five water management districts that cover 18 counties in the northeast and east-central areas of the state, including Brevard.

The agency defines "landscape irrigation" as the outdoor watering of plants, such as shrubbery, trees, lawns, grass, ground covers, plants, vines and gardens.

It does not include agricultural crops, nursery plants, cemeteries, golf course greens, fairways and vegetation associated with recreational areas, such as playgrounds and sporting fields.

Until March 8, landscape irrigation was permitted two days per week during both Daylight Saving Time and Eastern Standard Time.

Under the new restrictions, both residential and non-residential irrigation is allowed only one day per week during Eastern Standard Time.

Under the new regulations, the agency divided the days residents and business owners can irrigate based on their addresses.

During Eastern Standard Time, residential irrigation at odd numbered addresses is permitted on Saturdays, while residential irrigation at even numbered addresses is permitted on Sundays. Non-residential irrigation is allowed on Tuesdays, Mr. Largin said.

The agency also limited irrigation in all areas to no more than three-quarters of an inch of water per zone and no more than one hour per irrigation zone at one time.

The agency still prohibits residents and businesses from irrigating between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. during the designated days.

There is also a list of exceptions to the restrictions, which includes irrigating with a handheld hose, micro-spray or micro-jet irrigation system or when operating a system for maintenance purposes.

"This is not an emergency order or a water-shortage order," Mr. Largin said. "These are rules that we have put in place to encourage people to use water more efficiently."

While the agency is responsible for developing these restrictions, it is up to each local government to adopt an ordinance for its individual town or city, Mr. Largin said.

Within those ordinances, leaders must enforce their own penalties for violations, which can range from $50 to $200 depending on the offense, he said.

"Our hope is that each local government strongly follows the rules we have established and becomes active in enforcing them," Mr. Largin said. "We feel that the changes we have made to our rules will make them easier for individual communities to follow and enforce."

While the new restrictions are not permanent, the agency has not yet determined how long they will be in place.

"We have to wait and see the impact that the new rules will have on our environment," Mr. Largin said. "Then, we will go from there."

For a complete listing of watering restrictions from the St. Johns River Water Management District, visit http://sjr.fl.us/wateringrestrictions.