Fairfax County, VA Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)
Water restrictions in Fairfax County, VA, also called the watering schedule, outdoor irrigation rules, or drought ordinance, set which days and hours you can run sprinklers or irrigation.
Key Facts
- Trigger
- Board-declared water emergency
- Stage II limit
- Container of three gallons or less
- Penalty
- Class 3 misdemeanor
- Routine rule
- None outside an emergency
Summary
Fairfax County sets no routine lawn-watering schedule. Chapter 113 of the County Code restricts outdoor watering only after the County Executive determines a water shortage emergency exists and the Board of Supervisors so finds. Under a Stage II order, shrubs, trees, lawns, grass, and other vegetation may be watered only from a container holding three gallons or less.
Stage II. Assuming that very limited supplies of water are available, the County Executive is authorized to order restricted use or absolute curtailment of less essential uses of water including but not limited to one or more of the following:(1)Watering of shrubbery, trees, lawns, grass, plants, or any other vegetation, except from a watering can or other container not exceeding three (3) gallon capacity.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 113 is an emergency measure, not a standing conservation rule. Nothing in it limits which days Fairfax County residents may run sprinklers in ordinary times. The restrictions switch on in stages, and the stage that reaches landscape watering is Stage II, which the code reserves for periods when very limited supplies of water are available. At that point the County Executive is authorized to order restricted use or absolute curtailment of less essential uses of water, and Section 113-1-3(e)(1) puts watering of shrubbery, trees, lawns, grass, plants, or any other vegetation first on that list.
The single exception preserves hand watering: a watering can or other container not exceeding three gallon capacity. Because the exception names containers only, hoses, sprinklers, and irrigation systems all fall within the curtailment while a Stage II order stands. The phrase any other vegetation means the container rule reaches every planting on the property, not just turf. The restriction is temporary by design. It binds only while the emergency order remains in effect, and once the Board's emergency finding lapses, Fairfax County returns to having no watering-day limits at all.
Violations & Fines
Watering a lawn or landscape with a hose or sprinkler during a declared Stage II emergency, rather than from a container of three gallons or less, is a Class 3 misdemeanor. Section 113-1-4 also allows the County to suspend water service for violating an emergency order.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Fairfax County have set lawn-watering days?
What watering is allowed during a Stage II emergency?
Does a Stage II order cover trees and shrubs or just lawns?
What is the penalty for ignoring a watering order?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Fairfax County
How Fairfax County compares: Cities with the Strictest Water Restrictions·Compare Fairfax County to another location·View the Virginia landscaping rules overview
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