City Watering SchedulE

Residents and business in the city of Sacramento are required to follow a seasonal schedule when watering landscapes using sprinklers.

Wasting water is not allowed, including water running off properties and onto sidewalks or gutters, or ponding of water.

View the full City of Sacramento watering ordinance. 

The City offers many tips on how to save water.

From March 1 to October 31: 

• Customers with even-numbered addresses can water on Wednesday and Sunday.
• Customers with odd-numbered addresses can water on Tuesday and Saturday.
• Watering must be done before 10 a.m. and/or after 7 p.m.
• Watering is not allowed 48 hours after one-eighths inch of rain.

From November 1 to February 28: 

• Watering is allowed one day per week, on Saturday or Sunday, at any time of day.
• No weekday watering is permitted.

 There are several exemptions to the City's watering schedule:

• Drip irrigation
• Watering with a hose and spray nozzle
• Smart controllers that have been validated by City staff     
• Potted plants
• Edible gardens
• New landscaping, up to 30 days after installation
• When there are two or more consecutive days above 100 degrees

People can email waterconservation@cityofsacramento.org or call 916-808-5605 to request a variance from landscape watering requirements.

REPORTING WATER MISUSE

If you see water being misused, watering on the wrong day or time, or over-watering, please report it by calling 311 or 916-264-5011, emailing your report to 311@cityofsacramento.org, going online to our 311 website, or by using the City’s free 311 app on your smartphone.

When reporting information to the City, please be sure to include:

• Days and times the watering is occurring
• Address of where the water misuse is taking place
• Any pattern to the watering, like the frequency it is being watered or for how long the watering is taking place.
  
  

VIOLATIONS and fines

Fine for failing to comply with the City’s watering schedule ordinance are listed below.