Georgetown, TX Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)

Section 13.15.040(B) of the Georgetown Code of Ordinances sets one citywide landscape watering schedule. No landscape watering is permitted on Mondays. On every other day, watering of landscaped areas is allowed only on the days listed in Table 13.15.040-1 for the last digit of the property street address. Addresses ending in 1, 5 or 9 water on Tuesday and Friday. Addresses ending in 2, 4, 6 or 8 water on Wednesday and Saturday. Addresses ending in 0, 3 or 7 water on Thursday and Sunday. Every group has the same allowed hours: midnight to 10:00 AM and 7:00 PM to midnight. The table covers automatic irrigation systems, hose-end sprinklers, soaker hoses and drip irrigation, so a sprinkler on a timer and a sprinkler on the end of a hose follow the same calendar.

The schedule gives way to Chapter 13.16, the Drought Contingency Plan Regulations, once the City Manager declares a drought stage. Chapter 13.15 itself applies to all customers regardless of location, and to every private well owner inside the City's water service area. Ordinance 2023-20, adopted April 11, 2023, rewrote the chapter in its entirety.

Section 13.15.040(C) lists four exceptions. Watering with a hand-held hose only is allowed on any day and at any hour. Watering under a valid variance is allowed on the variance day. A commercial plant nursery is exempt. Brief watering while testing a new automatic irrigation system, or after repairing or adjusting an existing one, is also allowed.

A variance is the only route to a different watering day. Applications are filed online through the City's irrigation variance form. The Director of Water Utilities can grant a variance for up to 14 days for newly installed landscaping and sod in two situations. The first is when an irrigation inspector licensed by the TCEQ finds that site conditions prevent the site from receiving an average of 0.5 inches of water within the table's time limits. The second is when a licensed arborist or pest control professional prescribes watering for tree disease or pest control. The Director can grant one extension, and only after the applicant submits a written request showing a clear need to establish the new landscaping. No variance will ever be granted for times of day outside the allowed hours.

Builders face a separate step. If landscaping is required to pass final inspection of a new single family home, or before the end-buyer connects to City water, and the work is not finished, the applicant must hold a valid variance. A copy goes to the City inspector, or the required signage goes up on the lot, at least one full business day before the inspection or connection date.

Defining water waste reaches beyond the table. Section 13.15.010 counts runoff onto hardscape, watering saturated soil that could pool or run off, leaks from a broken irrigation system, and landscape watering on a day or hour this chapter forbids. Section 13.15.040(A) makes causing or allowing water waste unlawful. New automatic irrigation systems also have to be programmed to the City's watering schedule in effect for both day and time, and need a rain or moisture shut-off device (Section 13.15.050(D)).