South Central Regional Water Reclamation Facility

RECLAIMED WATER OPERATING PROCEDURE

The South Central Water Reclamation Facility provides reclaimed water for the Suntree/Viera area. The plant is located on Wickham Road two miles west of I-95. There is a one million gallon reclaimed water storage tank at the plant and a two million gallon reclaimed water storage tank and booster pump station on Spyglass Hill Road, ¼ mile west of Pinehurst Avenue.

The South Central Plant currently receives about 3.0 million gallons per day of wastewater that is reclaimed for irrigation uses. During most of the year there is sufficient reclaimed water to meet the irrigation demands of the community. However, there are times of the year, particularly in the months of April and May when the demand exceeds the supply. Without operational intervention, we would typically run out of reclaimed water in the early morning hours prior to 6:00 AM.

In order to redistribute the effects of this shortfall among all users, regardless of timer settings, we initiate our dry weather operational procedures.

The first step: To use a "rapid fill" technique at the Spyglass Hill storage tank begins midmorning (presently around 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM). This tank provides the water and pressure for the high demand irrigation period from 2 AM until 7 AM. During the fill cycle, you may have little or no reclaimed water pressure.

The second step: The augmentation of supply with the addition of storm water and well water to the plant flow. We can add over a million gallons a day by this augmentation.

The third step: It is common for the April – May reclaimed water demand to exceed even the augmented supply. When this happens, reclaimed water service is interrupted for two hours each night. The timing of the service interruption is rotated each night. For example, a typical schedule would start on Sunday Night (Monday morning) at 12 midnight and service would be restored at 2 AM. On Tuesday morning, service would be interrupted from 2 AM to 4 AM. On Wednesday morning the interruption would last from 4 AM until 6 AM. On Thursday morning the cycle would return to 12 midnight. This cycle continues to repeat itself.

If these strategies fail to adequately regulate the use of the reclaimed water, we may be forced to extend the storage tank fill cycle for several hours and or modify the two-hour rotation to a three-hour rotation.

The South Central Facility maintains a Reuse Hotline (321-637-5477) where day-to-day information on the status of reclaimed water availability and service interruptions can be obtained.

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Water conservation is important for reclaimed water use too.

While we strive to supply as much reclaimed water as we can, the other side of the supply/demand equation is the demand. The St. Johns Water Management District recommends that the total amount of (non rainfall) irrigation for lawns be limited to about 35 inches per year. During the April – May dry season, lawns require about 1.5 inches per week. During other times of the year (winter dormant season and summer rainy season) the amount of non-rainfall irrigation needed is significantly less. Utility records show that during 2000 and 2001, reclaimed water customers in the Suntree-Viera community used 78 inches of reclaimed water each year. During the April – May dry periods, application rates approached 2.5 inches per week, even with the Step 3 service interruptions in affect,

Excessive irrigation, especially in the winter, dormant months, will cause weed and fungus problems in lawns. If you have dollar weed, you are watering too much!

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Water Conservation Tips For Lawn Irrigation.

Don’t water during the day or when it’s windy. Water losses through evaporation can exceed 50% of the water used. Do not water every day. Although new lawns need frequent watering, once established, lawns prefer less frequent watering. Train your lawn to be drought resistant. Limit watering to two or three times each week. Apply 1/2 or 1/3 of the weekly water needs each time. Allow the soil to dry out between watering. This "deep" watering promotes deep root growth and makes the lawn more drought resistant. Mow your lawn to the proper height. St. Augustine grass should be cut no shorter than 3 to 4 inches. Irrigate only when and how much is needed. When the lawn is too dry, the grass will turn grayish blue and the leaves will fold. Measure your water. Home improvement stores have inexpensive rain gauges for lawns. Repair malfunctioning or maladjusted sprinklers. Increasing total water use to compensate for plugged or misadjusted sprinklers just wastes water.

To Learn Even More about Conservation - Visit these Sites

Water Conservation Information from S.J.R.W.M.D
Information on Conserving Water in your Home

Drought Information & Irrigation Rules for the St. Johns Water Management District

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