Sacramento City Lawn Watering Rules: Schedule, Fines, Rebates

Sacramento has declared a city-wide “water alert’’ in an effort to conserve water and reduce overall usage. One frivolous use of water that can be restricted without significant consequence is lawn watering and car washing. During the water alert, the City requires residents and business owners in the Sacramento area to follow the mandated seasonal watering schedule for lawn watering and car washing (with an automatic shut-off nozzle).

In this article, we will explain the latest city watering parameters and how you can optimize your household water usage to help in community efforts to reduce water usage.

City Watering Schedules

With the city of Sacramento entering a stage 2 drought, the city has implemented new watering schedules to help the city reduce water usage by 20% in these dry and challenging times. The City has released two separate seasonal watering schedules. The rules and timelines are as follows:

March 1st to October 31st

• All watering must be completed before 10:00 am or after 7:00 pm.
• No watering will be allowed within 48 hours of rainfall greater than ⅛ inch.

November 1st to February 28th

• Watering will be lowered to one day a week on either Saturday or Sunday at any time of the day
• No watering will no longer be permitted during the weekdays

City Watering Schedule Exemptions

While the city watering schedules are strictly enforced for lawn watering and car washing, there are several exemptions that will be permitted, including:

• Properties with Drip Irrigation Systems
• Watering with a regulated spray nozzle hose
• Smart Controllers validated and approved by City staff
• Watering of potted plants
• Watering of edible gardens
• Watering of new landscaping jobs (within 30 days of installation)
• Watering after two days consecutive days of 100+ degree weather

Violation and Fine Structure

Failing to comply with city of Sacramento’s water scheduling will result in a fine, violations and fines will be listed below:

Report Watering Violations

Due to the severity of our state’s water shortage, the city encourages residents to report any violation against seasonal watering schedules. If you notice someone over-watering or watering on a day that isn’t permitted, you can file a report by calling 311 or 916-264-5011. Additionally, you can email your report to 311@cityofsacramento.org, file through the 311 website, or via the City’s 311 app on your smartphone. When reporting misuse of water, the city will require some information, including

• The date and time of the occurrence
• The address where the misuse is taking place
• Any watering patterns such as frequency and length of usage.

Improve Your Lawn Watering Usage

In addition to essential conservation, there are many ways to improve the efficiency of your residential and commercial lawn watering usage. At Sacramento Plumbing Solutions, we recommend three primary methods for improved efficiency.  Each is included in the city water rebate program, so you can claim your money back.

1. First and foremost, convert old sprinkler heads to a smart sprinkler system or convert entirely to a drip irrigation system to negate excessive runoff to shared water supplies.
2. Next, installing rain barrels to conserve stored runoff from previous rainfall for use during dry periods.
3. Third, convert your lawn to drought-tolerant flower beds to reduce the amount of watering required and ultimately reduce the overall volume needed.

We Can Reduce Your Lawn Watering Usage

At Sacramento Plumbing Solutions, we understand the vital importance of water conservation in the state of California. As professional plumbers, we aim to assist in the community’s water conservation efforts by providing high-efficiency plumbing solutions to the Greater Sacramento area.

Call us to discuss how we can improve the water usage of your home or business, and schedule a free plumbing estimate today.