Reclaimed water is highly treated wastewater effluent used for irrigation purposes. Manatee County has invested significantly in developing a reclaimed water distribution system that includes over 200 miles of piping, 1.3 billion gallons of storage and 6 pumping stations serving more than 10,000 account. The objective of this system is to safely and beneficially dispose of highly treated wastewater effluent in a manner both protective of the environment and that promotes water conservation. The availability of reclaimed water for irrigation helps reduce the use of potable water and groundwater pumping. Manatee County ranks among the top third out of counties in the state in reclaimed water system operational efficiency (FDEP 2021annual report see web link below)

However, the reclaimed water system is only about 10% of the size of the potable water system, meaning that the vast majority of citizens do not have access to this resource. During the dry season, the demand for this resource can exceed supply, leading to periodic low reclaimed system water pressures. Since the County cannot guarantee reclaimed reclaimed water availability, this is one of the reasons we do not change a monthly base fee for reclaimed service, customers only pay a volume charge for the amount actually used.