Water restrictions in Buncombe County, NC — also called the watering schedule, outdoor irrigation rules, or drought ordinance — set which days and hours you can run sprinklers or irrigation.
Buncombe County has no standing landscaping water-restriction ordinance. Outdoor watering limits kick in through the water utility (Asheville water system) and North Carolina's drought-response system, which sets county restriction stages each week based on the U.S. Drought Monitor at ncdrought.org.
There is no year-round county rule capping lawn or garden irrigation in Buncombe County. Instead, restrictions are triggered by drought stage: North Carolina classifies every county weekly via the Drought Management Advisory Council, and water systems (chiefly the City of Asheville's water utility, which serves much of the county) impose voluntary or mandatory watering limits when conditions worsen. During active mandatory restrictions, NC G.S. 143-355.2 also bars HOAs from fining owners for dormant lawns. Check your specific water provider and the weekly drought map for the current stage that applies to your address.
Penalties, when in effect, are set by your water utility's drought stage (warnings, surcharges, or service action), not by a county landscaping ordinance.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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See how Buncombe County's water restrictions rules stack up against other locations.
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