LEGAL AND LEGISLATION NEWS

What is the Florida Statute 373.62 and What Does It Have to Do with
the Irrigation Industry

Florida Statute 373.62, titled “Water conservation; automatic sprinkler systems,” is Florida’s rain-sensor requirement for irrigation. In plain terms, it targets wasteful watering during or immediately after rain by requiring that automatic landscape irrigation systems include technology that “inhibits or interrupts” operation when there is “sufficient moisture.”

Interpreting the statute for rain-sensor devices comes down to two key ideas: coverage and function. First, the law applies to automatic irrigation systems operated by “any person” (not just professional installers). That means homeowners and property managers who operate the system must ensure the system has the required rain shutoff capability and that it is working.

Second, the statute doesn’t specify a single brand or a single sensing method. Instead, it focuses on performance: the rain sensor (or equivalent shutoff technology) must override or interrupt irrigation when adequate rainfall has occurred. Practically, that means the sensor needs to be installed in an operable, correctly exposed location so it actually receives rainfall, and it must be maintained so it continues to trip reliably. If the device is missing, bypassed, disconnected, or malfunctioning, the system isn’t complying with the statute’s “properly install, maintain, and operate” requirement.

Here's one takeaway: Florida requires working rain-sensor (or equivalent) shutoff for automatic landscape irrigation, and compliance hinges on both correct installation and continued operation of the moisture-interruption feature.

References:

“Residential Irrigation System Rainfall Shutoff Devices, or Rain Sensors” (Dukes, Michael D. and Cardenas, Bernard) https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/AE221

State of Florida Statutes 373.62
https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0300-0399%2F0373%2FSections%2F0373.62.html