Chapel Hill, NC Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)

Chapel Hill is not a Town-run water utility — water service is delivered by the Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA), a non-profit public utility chartered in 1977 to serve Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and the University of North Carolina. OWASA's supply comes from University Lake, Cane Creek Reservoir, and the Quarry Reservoir; the system is not in the Jordan Lake allocation pool that serves Cary/Apex/Morrisville. Under OWASA's Water Conservation Standards (May 2023), year-round outdoor watering rules apply: spray irrigation of turf grass is permitted only between 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. (i.e., no spray irrigation during the high-evaporation midday hours). The Water Shortage Response Plan establishes three stages: Stage One declared when there is a ≥2% risk reservoir storage will fall to 20% or less within 12 months, with conservation requests and continued enforcement of the year-round hours; Stage Two, requested via proclamations from the Mayors of Chapel Hill and Carrboro and the Chair of the Orange County Board of Commissioners, brings sharper outdoor-use limits; Stage Three is the most severe declaration and similarly is paired with municipal and county proclamations. OWASA's five-tier increasing block rate — Block 1 (0–2,000 gal) ~$4.31/1,000 gal, Block 2 (2,001–5,000) ~$10.44, Block 3 (5,001–10,000) ~$12.81, Block 4 (10,001–15,000) ~$17.89, Block 5 (15,001+) ~$32.37 — is designed under cost-of-service principles to penalize heavy outdoor irrigation. Drought surcharges layered on top further raise the cost of high-use months during declared stages. Public-purpose athletic fields, recreational fields, and botanical sites may seek exemptions through an OWASA-approved Water Conservation Plan.