County updates water-conservation work, turf‑swap rebates and irrigation rules

Stacy Greco of the Alachua County Environmental Protection Department updated the board on the county19s water‑conservation efforts and grant‑funded programs.

Greco described CAP and grant partnerships, an ongoing turf‑swap rebate program funded with $300,000 in cost‑share funds from the St. Johns River Water Management District, and Florida Water Star incentives for new construction. She told the board that, to date, the turf‑swap program removed 657 irrigation heads from participating properties and — by a back‑of‑the‑envelope calculation — saved roughly six million gallons of water annually so far. Greco said the county will run pre/post water‑use studies to measure program efficacy if grant funds and partnerships allow.

The department also reported on its irrigation design code, in force since April 2016, which requires plan approval and inspections for new irrigation systems and allows alternative compliance for constrained sites. Greco said 420 irrigation jobs have gone through the approval process and 71 irrigation professionals are registered in the county portal.

Commissioners asked about municipal opt‑in and enforcement. Chair Pinkettson and Commissioner Cornell requested a chair letter inviting municipalities to adopt the county19s irrigation policy for municipal facilities and to opt in to the irrigation ordinance where practical; staff will track municipal responses and report back. Commissioners also asked staff to provide citation and enforcement data (written warnings vs. citations) in a memo. The board approved a multi‑part motion to send a chair letter, schedule a policy discussion after municipal responses and request a presentation from the Community Weatherization Coalition; staff will also provide enforcement statistics by memo.