Reclaimed water and irrigation schedule — Palm Bay, Florida

Palm Bay reclaimed water customers in Sandy Pines Preserve and Country Club Estates may irrigate only during their zone's assigned window, which is 5 AM to 10 AM or 5 PM to 10 PM, and never on the weekly maintenance day.

The Palm Bay Utilities Department (PBUD) posts a separate irrigation schedule for Sandy Pines Preserve and for Country Club Estates, and warns that watering outside the scheduled time may result in penalties and restrictions (Palm Bay Water, Wastewater, Reclaimed Water). The schedules also govern supply: the Palm Bay sheets state that reclaimed water will be available to customers during their zone's scheduled time (Sandy Pines Preserve schedule). The 2026 Water Quality Report names the same two Palm Bay neighborhoods as the ones currently under irrigation schedules (2026 Water Quality Report, page 8).

The Country Club Lakes sheet lists Zones A, B and C, with separate rows for homes with odd numbered addresses, homes with even numbered addresses and non-residential properties (Country Club Lakes schedule). The exact weekday for each zone is printed on the grid of the Palm Bay schedule sheet itself, which PBUD links from its reclaimed water page; the grid does not survive in a form that can be quoted here day by day, so this page gives the windows and leaves the day assignments to the city's sheet.

Palm Bay reclaimed water is sewage that PBUD treats at its 1.2 million gallon per day water reclamation plant on Troutman Boulevard, then filters, disinfects and pumps through about 11 miles of public access reuse lines to lawns and landscaping.

PBUD runs two wastewater plants facing each other across Troutman Blvd. with a combined 5.2 million gallon per day capacity (Palm Bay Water, Wastewater, Reclaimed Water). The plant on the west side is the water reclamation facility, which uses extended aeration with final filtration and disinfection and discharges its effluent to a public access reuse system. The 4 million gallon per day plant on the east side sends its effluent down a Class I deep injection well instead, and the grounds of the Palm Bay wastewater plant are also irrigated with treated water.

The reuse network is small next to the city's sewer system. About 11 miles of reclaimed water distribution lines serve several businesses, residents and a local park, while the Palm Bay sewer side counts nearly 300 miles of lines and treats roughly 3.6 million gallons of wastewater a day (About Palm Bay Utilities). PBUD provides water, wastewater and reclaimed water service to residents of Palm Bay and the Town of Malabar.

In Palm Bay, reclaimed water is for irrigating lawns and landscapes, filling decorative ponds and fountains and other non-drinking uses, and is barred from drinking, pools, water play, home plumbing and washing cars or driveways.

The Palm Bay Utilities reclaimed water page sets out both lists (Palm Bay Water, Wastewater, Reclaimed Water). It is not to be used to fill swimming pools, hot tubs or wading pools, or water toys. It must not be connected to residential plumbing for toilet flushing or any potable use. It is not used for washing vehicles or washing down sidewalks and driveways, and it is not sprayed directly on fruits and vegetables that are eaten without peeling, skinning or cooking.

The 2026 Palm Bay Water Quality Report adds a plain note on contact: reclaimed water may not be used for drinking or other sanitary purposes, but incidental contact, such as being splashed with reclaimed water, is not cause for alarm (2026 Water Quality Report, page 8). The report describes it as highly treated, filtered and disinfected water from PBUD's wastewater facilities, suitable for residential lawns, medians and common areas in Palm Bay.

A Palm Bay residential reclaimed water customer pays a flat rate of 14.21 dollars under Ordinance 2025-37, up from 13.70 dollars, while commercial customers pay a base charge by meter size plus consumption.

The Palm Bay City Council read Ordinance 2025-37 in title on September 8, 2025, enacted it at a second reading later that September, and set the new Chapter 202 reclaimed rates to take effect October 1, 2025 (Ordinance 2025-37, page 1; page 2). The rates sit in section 202.09 of the Palm Bay Code, which the ordinance amends.

The residential increase works out to 51 cents, or about 3.7%, on the Palm Bay flat rate (14.21 minus 13.70, divided by 13.70; arithmetic from the ordinance). The ordinance also lists base charges for 1 1/2 inch, 3 inch and 4 inch commercial meters and a commercial consumption charge per thousand gallons (Ordinance 2025-37, page 1). Last verified: October 12, 2026, against Ordinance 2025-37 as posted by the City of Palm Bay.

Palm Bay homes that irrigate with city drinking water follow St. Johns River Water Management District days by house number, listed in the 2026 report as Wednesday and Saturday for odd addresses and Thursday and Sunday for even addresses from March 9 to November 1.

The 2026 Palm Bay Water Quality Report states that watering restrictions are established and enforced by the St. Johns River Water Management District, and that residential days depend on whether the house number is odd or even (2026 Water Quality Report, page 8). Watering is limited to before 10:00 a.m. and after 4:00 p.m. on the designated days.

These district days are the rule for most of Palm Bay, since the PBUD reclaimed schedules cover only the two developments named above. The reclaimed schedules in Sandy Pines Preserve and Country Club Estates are set by PBUD to maintain a healthy system, in the words of its reclaimed water page, so a household on reclaimed water follows its zone sheet rather than the odd and even calendar above.

Palm Bay Utilities is building a new water reclamation plant to meet future reuse demand in the southern part of the city, and it plans further reclaimed growth through its Water Conservation and Reuse Master Plan, which sets five-year and ten-year capital projects.

The About Palm Bay Utilities page describes the reuse master plan as the tool for further development of the city's reclaimed water system and for water conservation under the Utilities Strategic Plan, and copies are available from Palm Bay Utilities Engineering at (321) 952-3410 (About Palm Bay Utilities). State policy pushes the same way: the Florida Legislature made the encouragement and promotion of reclaimed water reuse and water conservation formal state objectives, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection writes the reuse rules in Chapter 62-610 of the Florida Administrative Code that a plant like the Palm Bay facility on Troutman Boulevard must meet (FDEP Florida Reuse Program).