Water Restrictions

Reclaimed water use is not restricted as to time of day or day of week; however, it must not be used excessively or unnecessarily.

Watering restrictions apply to all properties in unincorporated Hillsborough County. Use the table below to determine your watering days.

This schedule took effect in 2014

Rules

• Restrictions are for all properties in unincorporated Hillsborough County
• Watering must occur before 8 a.m. or after 6 p.m.
• You may only water any zone of a property once during the allowable day, not both in the morning and in the evening
• Empty wading pools or other recreational devices onto a lawn or landscape requiring irrigation
• These rules apply to all sources of water, including well water and surface water

New plants and grass – establishment period

• Beginning on the day of installation and through day 30
  • You can water new plant material including turfgrass any day of the week, but not between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.
• On days 31-60, you can water new plant material including turfgrass as follows:
  • Even-numbered addresses on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday
  • Odd-numbered addresses, locations with no address, and locations with mixed addresses on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
• Following this period, all new plant material is considered established and you must follow the regular watering day restrictions outlined in the table
• All new plant material (new or replacement turfgrass or new plants/shrubs) must cover at least 50 percent of an irrigation zone in order to water with an in-ground sprinkler system during the establishment period
• If under 50 percent, you must water the new plant material by hand following the same time of day and day of week restrictions for the establishment period
• You can only use these rules to water those zones containing 50 percent new plant material, not the entire yard
• Examples during the establishment period:
  • If you purchased one flat of grass plugs to place throughout your front yard to fill in bare spots, this would not cover 50 percent of an irrigation zone and you would need to hand water
  • If you had your entire front yard re-sodded, but not your backyard, you could only water the front yard
• Most irrigation timers have an A and B program and you can set one for regular watering and one zones containing the new plant material

Low Volume Irrigation

• Low volume irrigation is defined as a maximum of one half gallon per minute (30 gallons per hour) per emitter
• Low volume irrigation is not approved for lawns or turfgrass
• Low volume irrigation of plant materials other than lawns and grass is allowed any day at any time
  • Must not be wasteful or unnecessary

Hand Watering

• You can hand water plant materials, other than lawns and turfgrass ,on any day and at any time
• You can only hand water lawns and turfgrass during your designated day and time in the table

Chemical Treatment

• If a certified professional applies chemicals such as pesticides, fertilizer, herbicides, insecticides and fungicides to your lawn or landscape you can water in according to manufacturer’s instructions within 24 hours of the chemical treatment
  • The evening of the application, or the morning afterward
  • It is allowable on your non-designated watering day provided a dated chemical advisory marker showing the date of application is visible in the yard
  • Must water prior to 8 a.m. or after 6 p.m.
• If you apply a chemical treatment to your lawn or landscape yourself, you follow your designated watering day for your address, prior to 8 a.m. or after 6 p.m.

Car Washing

• You can wash your vehicle on any day at any time, but you must use a nozzle on garden-type hose that shuts off automatically when you release the trigger

Pressure Washing and Decorative Fountains

• No restrictions

Irrigation System Maintenance

• You may operate irrigation systems during restricted days or hours for cleaning and maintenance purposes, but limited to 10 minutes per week
• Someone must remain visible on site during the entire cleaning and maintenance operation

Enforcement

• In times of severe water shortages or drought conditions, we may put in place more aggressive and stringent enforcement, such as issuing a citation without first issuing a warning