If the afternoon storms have you thinking Tampa Bay’s drought is over, the latest numbers say otherwise.

Tampa Bay Water reported on July 8 that the region was still running a 14.46-inch rainfall deficit over the previous 12 months. At the end of June, the C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir was at 14.7% of capacity. Because the rain has not been enough to restore regional supplies, the Southwest Florida Water Management District extended its Modified Phase III “Extreme” Water Shortage restrictions through October 1, 2026.

For most homeowners, the main rule is simple: established lawns may be irrigated only once per week. The details matter, though. Your allowed day can depend on your address, utility, municipality, and water source.

What the once-a-week rule means

Across the affected Tampa Bay area, the current regional standard limits lawn and landscape irrigation using potable water, private wells, or surface water to one assigned day each week.

For properties smaller than one acre, irrigation is allowed during one of these windows on the assigned day:

  • 12:01 a.m. to 4 a.m., or
  • 8 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.

Properties one acre or larger may use both windows on the assigned day. Local governments and utilities can adopt schedules that are stricter or more specific, so your provider’s current page is the final check before you reprogram a controller.

Hand watering and microirrigation for flower beds, shrubs, trees, palms, and other non-turf plants are generally allowed on any day before 8 a.m. or after 6 p.m. Hand watering a lawn still falls under the assigned lawn-watering day and hours.

Find your assigned watering day

The standard address-based schedule used by Hillsborough County, Pasco County, and the City of Tampa is:

Last digit of address Watering day
0 or 1 Monday
2 or 3 Tuesday
4 or 5 Wednesday
6 or 7 Thursday
8 or 9 Friday
Mixed or no address Friday

Pinellas County rules vary by location, utility, and whether the property uses potable, well, lake, pond, or reclaimed water. The county’s official schedule separates some customers north and south of State Road 580, so Pinellas homeowners should use the county lookup rather than assuming the table above applies.

The same goes for anyone who is unsure whether a home is inside a city or in unincorporated county territory. A Tampa mailing address does not always mean the property is inside Tampa city limits, and the utility supplying the water is not always the agency enforcing the rule.

Before changing your timer, confirm:

  1. Whether the property is inside a municipality or unincorporated county.
  2. Whether irrigation uses potable water, a well, surface water, or reclaimed water.
  3. Which government or utility enforces the schedule for that address.

Five things homeowners can do now

1. Reprogram the controller—and check it after an outage

Do not assume the timer is still correct. Power interruptions, daylight-saving settings, and old programs can cause a system to run on the wrong day or during prohibited hours.

2. Make sure the rain or moisture sensor works

Florida law requires anyone who purchases and installs an automatic landscape irrigation system to properly install, maintain, and operate technology that interrupts or inhibits the system during sufficient moisture. That can include a rain sensor or a soil-moisture sensor. A controller should not run simply because the schedule says it can when enough rain has already fallen.

3. Fix broken and tilted sprinkler heads

A broken head can send water into the street or onto the driveway while leaving part of the lawn dry. Run each zone briefly while you are present, then repair leaks, clogged nozzles, and poor spray patterns before using the full cycle.

4. Water by amount, not by guesswork

There is no universal number of minutes because sprinkler heads and water pressure vary. UF/IFAS generally recommends applying one-half to three-quarters of an inch when 30% to 50% of the turf shows signs of wilt. A few straight-sided cans placed around a zone can tell you how long your system takes to deliver that amount.

5. Let temporary dormancy be temporary

Some warm-season grasses slow down or turn brown during drought and recover when adequate soil moisture returns. More water is not always the right answer, especially when it violates the current schedule. Avoid scalping the lawn, and do not rush into a full resod without checking the rules for establishing new landscaping.

If you are preparing a home for sale

Curb appeal still matters, but drought restrictions change the practical order of operations.

Start by repairing the irrigation system, confirming the rain sensor, trimming cleanly, edging beds, and replacing only failed plants that make a meaningful visual difference. Installing a large amount of new sod immediately before listing can create extra watering needs at the worst possible time. New-landscape allowances may apply, but they are limited and should be verified before installation.

A lawn that looks stressed during a regional water shortage is not automatically evidence that a home has been neglected. Buyers and sellers should look at the irrigation system’s condition, the type of grass, drainage, shade, and the current watering rules before drawing conclusions.

Check the current rule before you water

The drought order is currently scheduled to remain in effect through October 1, 2026, but restrictions can be changed or extended. Use the official links below before programming a system or installing new landscaping:

If you are getting a Tampa Bay home ready to sell and want a practical opinion about which exterior improvements are worth doing, send me the address or a few photos. I am happy to give you a straightforward answer.