DFW Watering Restrictions by City
Your city decides when you're allowed to run a sprinkler. Here's how to find the rules that apply to your address.
Always check your city's official page
Watering rules in North Texas are set city by city, and they move. A schedule that was accurate last summer may not be accurate today — cities shift stages when their water district's reservoirs drop, when a treatment plant goes down, or simply when the calendar rolls into the summer season. The only reliable source is your own city's website. We keep the links below current so you don't have to hunt for them, but the city's page is the one that governs.
Why the rules differ house to house
Two neighbors a mile apart can be under completely different schedules. Most DFW cities don't own their water — they buy it wholesale from a regional district, and each district sets its own drought stage. Your city then writes an ordinance on top of that.
On top of that, a lot of the smaller towns in Denton County aren't served by the town at all. Places like Bartonville, Double Oak, Argyle and Cross Roads get their water from a supply corporation or utility district, so the restrictions come from that utility rather than from city hall.
What usually determines your schedule
- 1 The last digit of your address. Odd and even addresses are almost always assigned different days.
- 2 Residential vs. commercial. Businesses, HOAs and common areas typically get their own days.
- 3 The season. Many cities drop to once a week from roughly November through March.
- 4 The current drought stage. A stage change can cut you from two days to one with little notice.
Patterns you'll see across most DFW cities
These are the rules almost every city in our service area has landed on. Treat them as what to look for when you open your city's page — not as your actual schedule.
Two days a week
Sprinkler and irrigation watering is capped at two assigned days, year-round in many cities. Tighter stages cut it to one.
No midday watering
A 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. blackout is close to universal here. Some cities run it year-round, others only April through October.
Hand watering exempt
A hand-held hose with a shutoff nozzle, drip irrigation and soaker hoses are usually allowed any day — which is how you keep new sod and foundations alive.
Real penalties
A warning first, then citations. Fines run anywhere from $50 to $2,000 per violation depending on the city, and repeat offenders can lose service.
Putting in new sod or a new landscape? Most cities will grant a temporary variance or establishment period so you can water outside your normal schedule while it roots. You usually have to request it — ask before the sod goes down, not after it browns. See our sod installation page for what establishment actually requires.
Find your city's watering restriction page
Every link below goes to the city's own site — or, where the town doesn't sell its own water, to the utility that does. Links open in a new tab.
No match in our service area. Call us at (214) 728-8894 — we may still serve you.
Dallas County
Tarrant County
Denton County
- Denton
- Lewisville
- Flower Mound
- Little Elm
- The Colony
- Highland Village
- Corinth
- Lake Dallas via Lake Cities Municipal Utility Authority
- Argyle via Argyle Water Supply Corporation
- Northlake
- Lantana via Denton County FWSD 6 & 7
- Hickory Creek
- Bartonville via Cross Timbers Water Supply Corporation
- Copper Canyon via Cross Timbers Water Supply Corporation
- Double Oak via Cross Timbers Water Supply Corporation
- Aubrey
- Sanger
- Justin
- Oak Point
- Cross Roads via Mustang Special Utility District
- Providence Village
- Krum
- Ponder
Don't see your city? We serve the wider Metroplex — check our service areas, then search your city's name plus "watering restrictions" to find its official page.
Where the drought stages actually come from
When your city tightens its schedule, it's usually because one of these wholesalers moved stages. Their sites are often the first place a change shows up.
North Texas Municipal Water District
Most of Collin County plus Richardson, Rowlett, Sachse and Wylie
Tarrant Regional Water District
Fort Worth, Arlington and the Northeast Tarrant cities
Upper Trinity Regional Water District
Much of Denton County, including the smaller towns and water supply corporations
Dallas Water Utilities
Dallas and the cities that buy their water wholesale from Dallas
Keeping a good lawn on two days a week
Restrictions aren't the reason lawns fail here — shallow, frequent watering is. Two deep soakings a week grow deeper roots than daily light sprinkling ever will, and that's what carries a North Texas lawn through August. The cities landed on twice weekly partly because it's what our grass actually needs.
What matters is making those two days count: run long enough to put down about an inch total for the week, water in the early morning before the blackout window starts, and fix the broken heads that are soaking your driveway instead of your turf.
Not Sure You're Watering The Right Way?
We build watering schedules around your city's restrictions, your grass type, and your soil — so you stay compliant and your lawn still looks good.
