Water conservation
In this section
Florida Water StarSM home
Program criteria
Training and workshops
Resources
- Technical manual
- Indoor resources
- Irrigation resources
- Landscaping resources
- Incentives and mandates
- Other
Contacts
Our partners
About Florida Water StarSM
Florida Water StarSM is a water conservation certification program for new and existing homes and commercial developments. Standards and guidelines for water efficiency are included for:
- Indoor fixtures and appliances
- Landscape design
- Irrigation systems
If you want to apply for certification or just want to update your home or business, following program guidelines make it easy for anyone to save water resources. The program outlines standards for a broad range of homes — from a condominium with no yard to an older home on a half-acre lot with an aging irrigation system — and commercial properties and community developments.
Florida Water StarSM can be effectively integrated into projects along with other programs such as ENERGY STAR®, the Florida Green Building Coalition’s (FGBC) green standards, and the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED program. Florida Water StarSM’s performance-based approach can enhance projects by providing a suite of efficiency practices that focus on water use areas specific to Florida.
Florida Water StarSM is offered throughout the state. In addition to the St. Johns River Water Management District, the program is offered by the South Florida Water Management District and the Southwest Florida Water Management District and those districts administer the program within their jurisdictions, and the Florida Green Building Coalition administers the program in the rest of the state.
The certification process
Certification
All Florida Water StarSM certifications require that applicants submit a signed copy of a participation agreement to the administrator. More information about the certification process can be found in the Certification Program Process.
The technical manual provides detailed information for each component of the criteria in the qualifications points list, giving further insight into how prerequisites and points are evaluated during the inspection. Technical interpretations are made by the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), which assigns point values for innovative best management practices that are not included as standard point items. For more information about these interpretations, contact Florida Water StarSM program staff.
For all types of construction seeking certification, applicants should work with either Florida Water StarSM staff or a Florida Water StarSM certifier early in the development process to minimize potential mistakes that could prevent certification. Participating in Florida Water StarSM may be encouraged or required in your community (See Florida Water StarSM Incentives and Mandates list). Participation agreements vary for each program administrator, so an applicant should contact the appropriate administrator to get the correct agreement.
Florida Water StarSM participation agreements — St. Johns River Water Management District
The Florida Water StarSM program logo cannot be duplicated in whole or in part
without written permission from the St. Johns River Water Management District.
