JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jacksonville's City Council voted on Tuesday and passed a proposal for tighter rationing on watering lawns.

Backers of the restrictions said the idea behind them is to conserve water in the name of a greener earth; but questions have been raised about the prospect of browner yards around town.

Residents who pride themselves on keeping their lawns picture-perfect by watering all the time may soon get a fine, courtesy the stricter water regulations.

"This is the goal: to get the level of knowledge up so homeowners can make better decisions," said Ebenezer Gujjarlapaudi, of the City Environmental Department.

City leaders feel that in the past many people have not made good decisions with respect to water conservation because there was no real punishment for over watering lawns.

Homeowners John Augustine agreed, saying water has been overused and now the city is running low.

"At one point in time, this area was self-sustaining and had very well retained water levels, and now we're finding that we're either flooded or dry," Augustine said.

The new guidelines will allow residents to water their lawns twice a week for part of the year, and only once a week from November to March.

Homeowners who live at even numbered addresses can only water their lawns on Thursday and Sunday; and odd addresses should water on Wednesday and Saturday.

Not everyone was in favor of the new legislation. City Councilman Daniel Davis was one of two on the council to vote against the tighter restrictions.

"It's nice and everything, but I don't think it's realistic," said Davis. "I don't believe this is enforceable, and I believe everybody who owns St. Augustine grass is going to do whatever it takes to make sure their grass doesn't die."

For the first year of the stricter regulations there is expected to be a grace period for residents to get used to the changes.

For more information about the new water regulations, including lawn fertilizer and other restrictions, visit Proposed Rule Amendments For Irrigation from the St. Johns River Water Management District.