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Purple pipe in the yard: living with reclaimed water
Reclaimed water irrigation uses highly treated wastewater for lawns and gardens through its own lavender pipes. It's never for drinking, pools or the house, and it has its own watering days.
If the meter box at the curb has a lavender lid, your sprinklers probably run on reclaimed water. Seminole County Utilities describes it as highly treated wastewater delivered for lawns and landscapes through a separate underground system. It saves drinking water, and it comes with rules that matter.
What is reclaimed water, exactly?
It's wastewater that a treatment plant has cleaned to a high standard and sent back out for irrigation instead of discharging it. Florida's rules for this kind of reuse are in Chapter 62-610 of the Florida Administrative Code, per DEP's water reuse program. It is not drinking water, and it is never treated as drinking water.
The tricky part is that you can't tell the difference by looking. DEP says it is virtually impossible to distinguish reclaimed water from drinking water by sight and scent. That's why color coding and cross-connection rules carry so much weight.
How do I know if my house has it?
Look for lavender. Seminole County uses the standard lavender (light purple) color for all reclaimed pipe, fixtures and the reclaimed meter box, and neighborhoods with reclaimed service post signs saying so. Seminole County also bills reclaimed water as a separate line on the utility bill.
State rules color-code plastic reclaimed pipe as Pantone Purple 522C. On private property, including homes, that color is recommended but not required, so an older or homemade line in the yard may not be purple. If you're unsure which pipe is which, ask your utility before you dig or tie anything in.
What is it safe to use for?
Seminole County lists lawns, fruit and vegetable gardens and fruit trees as safe uses. Its list of uses that are not safe is longer.
Reclaimed water: safe and not safe (Seminole County Utilities)
| Safe | Not safe |
|---|---|
| Watering lawns | Drinking |
| Fruit and vegetable gardens | Filling pools or hot tubs |
| Fruit trees | Playing in the sprinklers |
| Landscape beds | Washing pets, cars, equipment, buildings or driveways |
| Any connection to the house, such as toilet flushing | |
| An above-ground hose bib |
State rule backs that up. Reclaimed water may not fill swimming pools, hot tubs or wading pools, and above-ground hose bibs aren't allowed on reclaimed systems unless they sit in locked boxes (or ones that need a special tool) labeled "Do not drink" in English and Spanish with the international symbol, under rule 62-610.469.
Why can't reclaimed water touch the house plumbing?
Because a cross-connection could put it in someone's glass. State rule says no cross-connections to drinking water systems are allowed, and reclaimed water may not enter a home except in narrow cases. Never connect a reclaimed line to an outdoor faucet, a pool fill line, an outdoor shower or anything tied to the house.
To guard against mistakes, Seminole County puts a backflow device on the drinking-water meter of every reclaimed customer, inspects for cross-connections each year and requires the backflow device to be tested annually. Our backflow preventers story covers those devices and the testing.
How do I switch my sprinklers over?
When Seminole County brings reclaimed water to a neighborhood, the county sets the reclaimed meter. After that it's the homeowner's job to disconnect the in-ground irrigation from the drinking-water meter and hook it to the reclaimed meter. The county's "Get Connected" brochure is firm on timing: don't disconnect from the drinking-water meter until the county tells you the system is active and the reclaimed meter is in.
The steps, per the brochure: whoever does the work (the owner, a licensed irrigation contractor or a licensed plumber) pulls a county permit. Every link between irrigation and drinking water gets capped, including spigots, hose bibs, pool top-off lines and outdoor showers. The work must pass a county plumbing inspection before backfilling, then a separate reclaimed inspection. The county strongly recommends that homeowners not do the conversion themselves unless they have significant plumbing or irrigation experience, and suggests getting at least 3 bids. Our hiring a plumber story covers checking a license.
Which days can reclaimed customers water?
It depends on who sends the water. On Seminole County reclaimed, irrigation is allowed two days in every week of the year. Sanford's reclaimed users get a third day, with no seasonal change: even addresses on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, odd or unnumbered addresses on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, and nothing during the midday hours the city bans. Drinking-water and well irrigation follows the regular schedule in our watering days story.
One more rule: once reclaimed service reaches a property, the water management district no longer allows a private irrigation well to be used there.
Where is reclaimed water available?
Service depends on your utility and your neighborhood. Seminole County's Residential Reclaimed Retrofit program in its Northwest Service Area began in 2008. Phase 1 (February 2008) reached Bristol Park, Chestnut Hill, East Camden, Heathrow Woods and Magnolia Plantation; Phase 2 (September 2010) reached Alaqua Lakes; and Phase 3 (January 2015) added Breckenridge Heights, Lakeside, Stonebridge, Waters Edge, Wembley Park, Carisbrooke and Wyntree. The county says the first two phases save about 1,000,000 gallons of drinking water a day.
Readers often ask
Can I fill my pool with reclaimed water if I filter it?
No. State rule bars reclaimed water from filling swimming pools, hot tubs or wading pools, and Seminole County lists pool filling as not safe.
Is it safe to water my tomatoes with reclaimed water?
Seminole County lists fruit and vegetable gardens and fruit trees among the safe uses.
Can I put a hose bib on the reclaimed line to wash my car?
No. Car washing isn't a safe use, and state rule prohibits above-ground hose bibs on reclaimed systems unless they're in locked, labeled boxes.
Why does the county test the backflow device on my drinking-water meter?
Reclaimed homes get a backflow device on the drinking-water meter as a guard against cross-connections, and Seminole County requires it to be tested every year.
Do I need a permit to connect my sprinklers to the reclaimed meter?
Yes, in Seminole County. Whoever does the work pulls a county permit, and the hookup must pass inspection before reclaimed water is turned on for you.
Where this came from
- Seminole County Utilities — Reclaimed Water (archived) — definition, safe uses, lavender color, backflow testing, hookup duty, billing
- Seminole County — Reclaimed Water retrofit (archived) — retrofit phases and water saved
- Seminole County — Get Connected brochure (archived) — hookup timing, permit, inspections, bids
- Seminole County — Watering Restrictions (archived) — reclaimed days
- City of Sanford — Watering Restrictions brochure — Sanford reclaimed days
- Florida Admin. Code r. 62-610.469 — hose bibs, pools, cross-connections, color coding
- Florida DEP — Cross-Connection Control — looks like drinking water; inspections
- Florida DEP — Water Reuse Program — Chapter 62-610
- SJRWMD — Watering Restrictions — no private irrigation wells where reclaimed is available