Water Use Restrictions

Water use restrictions are in place year-round to help ensure a sufficient quantity of drinking water for the Tampa community. Violating water use restrictions in Tampa may result in fines ranging from $100 to $450 and a mandatory court appearance. Restrictions are subject to change in response to local and regional water supply conditions.

The Tampa Water Department publishes updates and changes to local water restrictions in these ways: media releases, Twitter,  Facebook, RSS feeds, informational Alert Tampa emails, "The Pipeline" electronic newsletter, email blasts to registered Neighborhood Association contacts, and utility customer billing inserts.

Using water efficiently can help you manage your utility costs. Tampa's Schedule of Rates includes a multi-tier rate structure where the price of each billing unit of water increases as the quantity of water used in a billing cycle increases. This means that using more water will result in a higher utility bill due to the increased tier charges.

Water Restrictions Inside Tampa City Limits:

Water use for all water sources, except reclaimed water, (including but not limited to: public, private, well, pond, lake, and harvested rainwater) inside the Tampa city limits is restricted year-round under Tampa Code Sec. 26-97 and Chapter 40D-22, F.A.C.

Restrictions are in place for water uses including (but not limited to) irrigation of new and established landscapes, low-volume micro-irrigation, hand watering, irrigation system maintenance, chemical treatments, car washing, pressure washing, decorative fountain, and recreational use.

• Report a Violation through the Customer Service Center or by calling (813) 274-8036

• Summary of Emergency Water Use Restrictions (PDF, 69K)

• Recorded restrictions summary is available by calling (813) 274-8032

• Summary of Restrictions Enforcement Citations and Fines (PDF, 59K)

• Petition for Variance, Tampa (PDF, 43K); refer to Tampa Code Sec. 26-97  for criteria and procedures

• SWFWMD Petition for Variance and Instructions

Water Restrictions for Tampa Water Department Customers Located Outside Tampa City Limits in Unincorporated Hillsborough County:

Water use restrictions for customers located outside Tampa city limits are enforced by Hillsborough County Public Utilities Department (HCPUD). Call HCPUD at (813) 275-7094 for more information.

Not sure if Your Address is Inside Or Outside Tampa City Limits? Look up your address and Find your watering day in tampa using My Tampa Address.

Once-Per-Week Watering Days Inside Tampa City Limits: 

This is only a summary of the restrictions in place under Tampa Code Sec. 26-97, Chapter 40D-22, F.A.C., and Southwest Florida Water Management District Water Shortage Order 2013-0065.  For complete information on restrictions in effect refer to the source documents.

Irrigation of established lawns (turfgrass) and landscaping (non-turf) is allowed ONCE PER WEEK, on assigned days. All irrigation must be accomplished between 12:01 a.m. and 8 a.m. OR between 6 p.m. and 11:59 p.m. on the allowed day.   Any one zone of a property may only be watered once during an allowable day, NOT both in the morning and again in the evening. These restrictions apply to all water sources, except reclaimed water, although reclaimed water customers are encouraged to use only what they need.

Follow the permitted watering schedule outlined in the chart below:

Note: The same lawn area may not be watered by multiple means, in other words, persons may not use an irrigation system and a hand-held hose to water the same area twice on their day.

Watering of landscapes using an in-ground irrigation system (rotor and spray sprinkler heads) or a hose equipped with a portable sprinkler is limited to the same once-per-week schedule.

Allowed Hours:

All irrigation must be accomplished between 12:01 a.m. and 8 a.m. OR between 6 p.m. and 11:59 p.m. on the allowed day. Any one zone of a property may only be watered once during an allowable day, NOT both in the morning and again in the evening. No irrigation is permitted between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. on any day.

Hand-watering:

Hand-watering and micro-irrigation of flower beds, shrubs and other plants (other than lawn) may be done on any day, but only during allowable watering hours. Remember to use an automatic shutoff nozzle when using a garden hose.

Irrigation of New Lawns and Landscaping:

Follow these rules for watering new lawns (including sod, seed, plugs, etc.) and all landscaping. Note: All irrigation must be accomplished between 12:01 a.m. and 8 a.m. OR between 6 p.m. and 11:59 p.m. on the allowed days.

All new plant material (including turfgrass) -- the establishment period is limited to 60 calendar days.

• On days 1-30, beginning the day of installation, you may water any day of the week. On the day the plant material is installed, this extra watering can occur only ONCE during otherwise restricted hours.

• On days 31-60, even-numbered addresses may water on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays; odd-numbered addresses and those locations with no address (medians, rights of way, and common areas) may water on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays.

• Following this period, all plant material is considered established, and must follow the restrictions for established landscapes.

Sprinkler System or Hand Water? - New plant material must cover at least 50% of an irrigation zone in order to water with an in-ground sprinkler system during the initial establishment period. If not, the new plant material must be hand watered. (Example: If you purchased one flat of grass plugs to place throughout your front yard to fill in bare spots, this would not cover 50% of an irrigation zone. Hand watering would be required.) Even if you water by hand, you must follow the same guidelines for new lawn establishment.

Also, only those zones containing 50% new plant material may be watered, not the entire yard. (Example: If you had your entire front yard re-sodded, but not your backyard, only those zones covering the front yard could be run during the establishment period. The backyard zones would have to remain on the regular watering schedule. Most irrigation timers have an A and B program. Program A can be set for the regular watering. Program B can be programmed for multiple days to only water those zones containing the new plant material during the establishment period. After the establishment period has ended, be certain to clear all information from Program B, as these irrigation controllers are notorious for resetting after a power outage or spike and running all programs at the same time, even if Program B is turned off.
 

Use hand watering or micro-irrigation technology to meet the needs of potted plants, flower beds, shrubs, or specimen trees if they will require more than once-per-week watering after the first 60 days.

(page last reviewed: 05/30/13)