Can You Get Fined For Watering Your Lawn? Here's What To Know

If your community has issued a restriction on watering lawns during a drought, but you weren't aware of it or forgot about it and sprinkled your yard anyway, you might wonder if you can get fined. You should know that yes — some places will charge you penalties for violating those types of restrictions. The amounts of the fines will vary depending on where you live, how may violations you've made, and the severity of the drought. However, that doesn't necessarily mean you can't water at all, but that residents need to respect designated guidelines for irrigating to avoid any punitive fees.

Since watering lawns is not considered the best use of this resource during a drought, municipalities often put restrictions into effect and impose fines on those who choose to irrigate anyway. The good news is, you may not need to irrigate your grassy lawn as much as you think to maintain a lush, green oasis, so perhaps cutting back won't ruin your curb appeal. Watering restrictions being in place might not mean you can't water at all, though it's possible it will be necessary to change your lawn care routine to adapt to drought restrictions and avoid paying penalties. Policies vary according to location, so doing research for your specific area is highly important.

For instance, in Salt Lake City, Utah, residents and business owners can only water their lawns between 6pm and 10am without being at the risk of paying penalties, and are recommended to do so only once a week. In the future, Utah residents may also get fined for irrigating yards out of season. In another region of the U.S., in the city of Statesville, North Carolina, the amount of the fines issued depends on the current severity of the drought and the number of violations, ranging between $100 to $600. Statesville allows irrigating only on specific days, and only once a week from 8pm to 8am. Irrigating your lawns isn't the only water usage restriction that can get you a fine. In some places, car washing and filling swimming pools may also be on the list of what's prohibited.

If these limitation sound extreme, know that your yard doesn't need hydrating as often as you might think — in fact, overwatering is one of the mistakes that everyone makes when watering their lawns. You may be surprised to learn that watering your lawn every day actually makes your grass more prone to heat stress, so getting fined shouldn't be the only thing motivating homeowners to make more efficient use of water for landscaping. Even if rain comes and the drought breaks, don't immediately jump into a heavy irrigation routine. A single rain shower may keep your grass hydrated for two weeks.