Summary of Florida's Water Reuse Guideline or Regulation for Agriculture

This page is part of the EPA’s REUSExplorer tool, which summarizes the different state level regulations or guidelines for water reuse for a variety of sources and end-uses.
The source water for this summary is Treated Municipal Wastewater.

On this page:

• Technical basis
• Water reuse for agriculture approved for use in Florida
• Water reuse treatment category for agriculture
• Additional context and definitions
• Water reuse for agriculture specifications (table)
• Upcoming state law or policy
• References
• Disclaimer

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This page is a summary of the state’s water reuse law or policy and is provided for informational purposes only. Please always refer to the state for the most accurate and updated information. 

In Florida, water reuse for agriculture includes application of reclaimed water in areas used to grow feed, fodder, fiber or seed crops and irrigation of sod farms, trees, pastureland used for grazing cattle whose milk is not intended for human consumption, edible crops that will and will not be peeled, skinned, cooked or thermally processed before consumption, tobacco, citrus and terraced, sloped and vegetated surfaces. The source of water (treated municipal wastewater) treated municipal wastewater Treated wastewater effluent discharged from a centralized wastewater treatment plant of any size. Other terms referring to this source of water include domestic wastewater, treated wastewater effluent, reclaimed water, and treated sewage. is specified by the state as domestic wastewater . The write-up uses state terms when discussing sources or uses of water that may differ from the Regulations and End-Use Specifications Explorer's (REUSExplorer's) terms.

Technical basis

Florida approves the reuse of treated domestic wastewater for agricultural irrigation using overland flow systems or slow-rate land application systems in areas with and without public access (Fla. Admin. Code r. 62-610). All applicable provisions of the Clean Water Act (CWA) (33 U.S.C. §§ 1251 et seq.), including its implementing regulations, must be met in addition to any relevant rule requirements under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) (124 Stat. 3885). The reclaimed water application systems are defined by their respective treatment requirements and applicable performance standards, as well as their respective system mechanics and degree of public access (definitions of each application system are provided in the section). All application systems must receive secondary treatment with disinfection (Fla. Admin. Code r. 62-600.440). Disinfection type (“basic” or “high-level”) and performance standards (i.e., microbial specifications) vary with each application system. Treatment requirements and performance standards are applied for the removal of microbial contaminants, chemicals and other relevant indicators related to agriculture and are summarized in the table. The technical basis for developing the specifications and/or removals of microbial contaminants, chemicals and other relevant indicators is not explicitly specified.

Water reuse for agriculture approved for use in Florida

Fla. Admin. Code r. 62-610 defines the following approved water reuse for agriculture:

• Application of reclaimed water in areas used to grow feed, fodder, fiber or seed crops (Slow-rate Land Application Systems; Restricted Public Access)
• Irrigation of sod farms (Slow-rate Land Application Systems; Restricted Public Access)
• Irrigation of trees, including managed hardwood or softwood plantations (Slow-rate Land Application Systems; Restricted Public Access)
• Irrigation of pastureland used for grazing of cattle whose milk is not intended for human consumption (Slow-rate Land Application Systems; Restricted Public Access)
• Irrigation of edible crops that will be peeled, skinned cooked or thermally processed before consumption, including direct contact of the reclaimed water with such edible crops (Slow-rate Land Application Systems; Public Access Areas, Residential Irrigation and Edible Crops)
• Irrigation of tobacco or citrus (i.e., citrus used for fresh table fruit, processing into concentrate, or other purposes), including direct contact of the reclaimed water with tobacco or citrus (Slow-rate Land Application Systems; Public Access Areas, Residential Irrigation and Edible Crops)
• Irrigation of edible crops that will not be peeled, skinned, cooked or thermally processed before consumption using an indirect application method that will preclude direct contact with the reclaimed water (such as ridge and furrow irrigation, drip irrigation or a subsurface distribution system) (Slow-rate Land Application Systems; Public Access Areas, Residential Irrigation and Edible Crops)
• Irrigation of terraced, sloped, vegetated surfaces, such as sod farms, forests, fodder crops, pasture lands and similar areas (Overland Flow Systems)

Water reuse treatment category for agriculture

The respective treatment requirements are briefly summarized regarding water reuse for agriculture (Fla. Admin. Code r. 62-610): 

• For “Slow-rate Land Application Systems; Restricted Public Access,” at a minimum, secondary treatment and basic disinfection are required.
• For “Slow-rate Land Application Systems; Public Access Areas, Residential Irrigation, and Edible Crops,” at a minimum, secondary treatment and high-level disinfection are required. 
• For “Overland Flow Systems,” at a minimum, secondary treatment and basic disinfection are required. 

Treatment facilities that provide “basic disinfection” must meet the following criteria using either membrane filtration or equivalent most probable number (MPN) methods (Fla. Admin. Code r. 62-600.440):

• The arithmetic mean of the monthly geometric mean values collected during an annual period and the geometric mean for a minimum of 10 samples (each collected on a separate day during a period of 30 consecutive days [monthly]) should not exceed 200 fecal coliform values/100 mL of reclaimed water or effluent sample.
• No more than 10% of the samples collected during a period of 30 consecutive days shall exceed 400 fecal coliform values per 100 mL of reclaimed water or effluent sample.
• Any one sample should not exceed 800 fecal coliform values/100 mL of reclaimed water or effluent sample.
• When chlorine is used for disinfection, a total chlorine residual of ≥0.5 mg/L should be maintained after at least 15 minutes contact time at the peak hourly flow. Rapid and uniform mixing are required.

Treatment facilities providing “high-level disinfection” must meet the following criteria using either membrane filtration or equivalent MPN methods (Fla. Admin. Code r. 62-600.440):

• Over a 30-day period (monthly), 75% of the fecal coliform values shall be below the detection limits.
• Single sample maximum of 25 fecal coliform values/100 mL of reclaimed water or effluent sample.
• Single sample maximum of 5 mg/L of total suspended solids at a point before application of the disinfectant.
• When chlorine is used for disinfection, a total chlorine residual of ≥ 1.0 mg/L shall be maintained at all times. The minimum acceptable contact time is 15 minutes at the peak hourly flow. Rapid and uniform mixing are required. At new or expanded treatment facilities, the contact time at peak hourly flow should be ≥25 minutes if ≤1,000 fecal coliform values/100 mL are present in samples, ≥40 minutes if 1,000–10,000 fecal coliform values/100 mL are present in samples and ≥120 minutes if ≥10,000 fecal coliform values/100 mL are present in samples.

Additional context and definitions

In Florida, restricted access means that access to the reuse site by the general public is controlled and that access to the reuse site by the public is infrequent. These sites are accessible to authorized operators and farm personnel (Fla. Admin. Code r. 62-610).

Slow-rate land application systems involve the “application of reclaimed water to a vegetated land surface with the applied reclaimed water being treated as it flows through the plant-soil matrix. A portion of the flow percolates to the ground water and some is used by the vegetation. Offsite surface runoff of the applied reclaimed water is generally avoided. Surface application techniques include ridge-and-furrow and border strip flooding. Spray irrigation systems can use fixed risers or moving systems, such as center pivots” (Fla. Admin. Code r. 62-610). “Slow-rate Land Application Systems; Restricted Public Access” refers to the type of reuse system that involves the irrigation of areas where public access is primarily restricted (Florida, 2021a). “Slow-rate Land Application Systems; Public Access Areas, Residential Irrigation, and Edible Crops” refers to the type of reuse system that involves the irrigation of areas that are intended to be accessible to the public, including areas where edible crops are grown (Fla. Admin. Code r. 62-610). Overland flow systems are a method of land application that involves sprinkling or flooding upper reaches of terraced, sloped, vegetated surfaces (Fla. Admin. Code r. 62-610). 

Florida requires that the public be notified of the use of reclaimed water using advisory signs designating the nature of the reuse project area where reuse is practiced, notes on scorecards, or by other methods. The use of purple as a prominent color on these advisory signs and written notices is recommended, but not be required. Advisory signs should include, in English and Spanish, “Do not drink” together with the equivalent standard international symbol (Fla. Admin. Code r. 62-610). No cross-connections to potable water are allowed. Specifically, in public access areas where slow-rate land application systems are used, “all reclaimed water valves and outlets shall be appropriately tagged or labeled (bearing the words in English and Spanish: “Do not drink” together with the equivalent standard international symbol) to warn the public and employees that the water is not intended for drinking. All piping, pipelines, valves, and outlets shall be color coded, or otherwise marked, to differentiate reclaimed water from domestic or other water. Underground piping which is not manufactured of metal or concrete, should be color coded for reclaimed water distribution systems using Pantone Purple 522C and underground metal and concrete pipe should be color coded or marked using purple as a predominant color. If tape is used to mark the pipe, the tape should be permanently affixed to the top and each side of the pipe. Visible, above-ground portions of the reclaimed water distribution system shall be clearly color coded or marked. It is recommended that distribution and application facilities located on private properties, including residential properties, be color coded using Pantone Purple 522C” (Fla. Admin. Code r. 62-610).

Water reuse for agriculture specifications

Summary of Florida's Water Reuse for Agriculture Specifications

Source= Fla. Admin. Code r. 62-610, Fla. Admin. Code r. 62-600.440

* Information about sampling and monitoring requirements such as frequency, site and quantification methods not specifically listed in the table was not explicitly specified in the State-specific regulations.

Upcoming state law or policy

No upcoming regulations pertaining to water reuse for agriculture were found for Florida.

References

Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. §§ 1251 et seq.

Disinfection Requirements, Fla., Admin. Code r. 62-600.440. 

Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), 124 Stat. 3885.

Reuse of Reclaimed Water, § 403-064, Fla. Stat. (2021).

Reuse of Reclaimed Water and Land Application, Fla. Admin. Code r. 62-610.

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Disclaimers

Please contact us at [email protected] if the information on this page needs updating or if this state is updating or planning to update its laws and policies and we have not included that information on the news page.