Sewer and Reclaimed Water in Rockledge, Florida

The City of Rockledge treats its own wastewater and sells reclaimed irrigation water, while the City of Cocoa supplies the drinking water that flows from Rockledge taps.

Rockledge sewer and reclaimed service runs out of the Wastewater Treatment Facility at 1700 Jack Oates Blvd., Rockledge, FL 32955, with office hours Monday to Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., phone 321-221-7540 and fax 321-204-6377. The city says the plant is staffed around the clock and that the department responds free of charge to determine the cause of a sewer problem (City of Rockledge Wastewater page). For reclaimed questions, the Water Restrictions page gives the same main number with Option 6 for the Wastewater Treatment and Water Reclamation Department (Rockledge water restrictions).

Drinking water is a separate utility. The City of Cocoa work plan lists Rockledge among the places that take Cocoa water, alongside Cocoa Beach, Merritt Island, Viera and others, and it names Rockledge as one of three cities, with Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach, that run a municipal reclaimed system serving only their own corporate limits (City of Cocoa Water Supply Facilities Work Plan). That split is why a Rockledge household deals with Cocoa for drinking water and backflow devices and with Rockledge for sewer, reclaimed connections and credits. The Cocoa work plan is dated September 2009.

Last verified: October 21, 2026, by re-reading the Rockledge wastewater, watering and sewer credit pages, the reclaimed water packet, the sewer ordinance business impact form and the September 2009 City of Cocoa supply plan.

A Rockledge owner reviews the reclaimed packet, files an application with the connection fee at the Jack Oates Blvd. facility, gets a permit, installs the required equipment and calls for inspection before the city turns the water on.

The Rockledge packet says reviewing it does not obligate anyone to connect. The application goes to the Wastewater Treatment/Water Reclamation Facility at 1700 Jack Oates Blvd. with the connection fee, payable to the City of Rockledge by check or money order only, and the fee is listed under Section 17-51 of the Rockledge Code of Ordinances (Rockledge reclaimed water information packet). Signing the application grants the city permission to inspect the irrigation system at reasonable times and sets up a hold harmless agreement. A landlord, management company or association must tell residents about the reclaimed water rules.

The physical connection in Rockledge needs an in-ground irrigation system, a hand control valve on the owner's side as close as possible to the city curbstop valve, and a backflow prevention device. Only the City of Cocoa may install the backflow device, reached through City of Cocoa Customer Service at 321-433-8400, and the owner pays any Cocoa charge for it. City personnel alone open or close the curbstop; an installer calls the Water Reclamation Division to flush or pressure check the system.

Inspection comes when the curbstop connection and hand control valve are in place and the irrigation system is ready, and again once the backflow device is installed and tested. After approval the city turns the system on and hands over a Reclaimed Water sticker for a front window of the Rockledge home; the packet warns that a missing sticker could bring code enforcement action. The Rockledge Wastewater page asks for at least 24 hours notice for reclaimed water inspections (Rockledge Wastewater inspections).

Rockledge charges a one-time connection fee from $500 for a 3/4 inch service up to $5,000 for the largest lines, then a metered base rate of $10 a month for up to 30,000 gallons.

Every amount in the table comes from the Rockledge reclaimed water information packet, which also lists intermediate service sizes (1-1/2, 3, 6, 8 and 10 inch) at $750, $1,500, $2,500, $3,000 and $4,000. Public property pays $200 per connection point but never less than the tier charge, and service outside the City of Rockledge pays the established rate plus an additional 25 percent. The packet states that the connection charges are set by ordinance, and the Rockledge treatment facility (Rockledge Wastewater contact, 321-221-7540) answers questions about them before a check is written.

Reclaimed irrigation in Rockledge follows the house number: Thursday and Sunday for even numbers, Wednesday and Saturday for odd numbers, and no reclaimed watering at all on Monday, Tuesday or Friday.

No watering is allowed between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on any day in Rockledge, in line with St. Johns River Water Management District rules, and violations can lead to discontinuation of service (City of Rockledge water restrictions). The Rockledge wastewater FAQ phrases the same window from the other side: legal watering times are 4 p.m. to 10 a.m., and the same is requested of reclaimed water (Rockledge wastewater FAQ).

The Rockledge packet spells out how enforcement climbs: a first violation brings a written notice giving the date and time, the second and later violations may go to the Code Enforcement Board, and repeat violations may end service (reclaimed packet, violations). It also lists what reclaimed lines may not do. No hose bibs, no ties to drinking water or wells, no quick disconnects, and no fountains, waterfalls or overhead sprinklers without department approval. Reclaimed water may not fill swimming pools, hot tubs or wading pools.

Garden rules in the Rockledge packet are specific. Citrus may be irrigated with direct contact, as may edible crops that will be peeled, skinned or cooked; crops eaten raw may be watered only by an indirect method such as drip, ridge and furrow or subsurface lines. For equipment, the packet recommends components compatible with pressures up to 100 psi, schedule 40 PVC pipe, pop-up droplet heads instead of mist heads, and purple or lavender tape or paint on new reclaimed lines so they are not confused with drinking water pipes.

A Rockledge sewer or reclaimed credit request must arrive within 60 days of the bill in question, is capped at $500.00 and is never granted for indoor leaks, irrigation, or negligent or undetermined use.

The Rockledge credit page lists the exclusions in full: leaks where water enters the sanitary system, such as leaking toilets or faucets, water used for irrigation, and negligent or undetermined use of water. A form can be downloaded as a PDF and returned by mail, drop-off or email with its required attachments, picked up at Rockledge City Hall during business hours, or requested by calling City Hall at (321) 221-7540 (Rockledge sewer/reclaimed water credit application). The credit page sits under the city Finance Division.

Filling a swimming pool is the common case. The Rockledge wastewater FAQ allows one pool fill sewer credit per 12 month period, under the same 60 day deadline and $500.00 limit, and repeats that credits are not guaranteed (Rockledge wastewater FAQ on pool credits).

For a slow drain or a sewer backup in a Rockledge home, the city FAQ says to call the Wastewater Treatment Facility at 321-221-7540, and a city representative investigates.

The Rockledge Wastewater page adds two calls residents can make for the system itself. The city maintains over fifty City-owned sewer lift stations, and a flashing red light at one may signal a problem; the city asks callers to give the lift station number or its location (City of Rockledge Wastewater page). Sewer inspections called in by 9 a.m. are done the same day, while later calls are handled the following day, and the caller provides the address and permit number. The same page reminds Rockledge restaurants that the City Sewer Use Ordinance requires traps and interceptors to be cleaned at least once every 3 months, or more often if directed.

Grease is the recurring cause. A November 21, 2025 Rockledge news item from the Wastewater Treatment and Water Reclamation Department explains that oils and grease cool, solidify and block pipes, which can push untreated wastewater back into homes or out of manholes into yards, streets, storm drains and eventually the Indian River Lagoon (Rockledge FOG news item). Its steps: pour cooking oil into a sealable container for the trash, absorb large amounts such as turkey frying oil with clay cat litter, scrape pans into the trash, skip the garbage disposal because grinding only makes the pieces smaller, and use a strainer over the sink drain.

Storm season matters for private systems too. The Rockledge Wastewater page warns that overflows can happen at public and private lift stations during hurricanes and drain into the St. Johns River or Indian River Lagoon, says city lift stations and the collection system take priority during storms and recovery, and links a checklist for owners of private lift stations.

A proposed ordinance on a City of Rockledge business impact estimate form would raise the base monthly sewer charge ten percent and the gallonage charge five percent in each of five years, with new rates to commence October 1, 2025 under the proposal.

The Rockledge form, on a template revised February 10, 2025, names the proposed ordinance as amending Section 32-143 of the Rockledge Code of Ordinances. Besides the base and gallonage increases, the proposal would raise sewer-only customer rates for each of the five years, revise how base sewer charges are allocated, recodify sewer deposit rates and clarify deposit refund procedures (Rockledge sewer ordinance business impact estimate). The form says the city gave notice of the increase under Section 180.136, Florida Statutes, and, in its estimate of costs if the ordinance is enacted, that businesses with relevant sewer service will experience increased charges on the same schedule.

The form labels the measure a proposed ordinance. For the sewer charge in effect on a given account, Rockledge City Hall answers at 321-221-7540 (City Hall contact on the Rockledge credit page). The reclaimed amounts in the table above come from the reclaimed packet, which ties the connection fee to Section 17-51.