Hanover County, VA Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)
Water restrictions in Hanover 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
- Governing section
- Hanover County Code § 23-10
- Odd addresses water
- Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
- Even addresses water
- Wednesday, Friday, Sunday
- No-watering day
- Monday, countywide
- 2nd offense fine
- $50.00 on water bill
- 3rd+ offense fine
- $100.00 per offense
- Enforcer
- Dept. of Public Utilities
Summary
When the county administrator declares mandatory water conservation for the Hanover Suburban Water System, established landscape and vegetable gardens can only be watered on assigned days tied to the last digit of the property address, and Mondays are a no-watering day countywide for that system.
(d)Water conservation measures for the Hanover Suburban Water System. Upon the implementation of water conservation measures by the county administrator for the Hanover Suburban Water System, ... use of the county provided water shall be limited as follows: ... (4)Vegetable gardens and established landscape - watering is permitted only as follows:a.Odd property addresses (by last digit of address number): water only on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.b.Even property addresses (by last digit of address number) and locations with no address number: water only on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.c.Watering is prohibited on Mondays.d.Watering by bucket is unrestricted. ... (f)Penalty. ... (1)For the first offense, violators shall receive a written warning delivered in person or posted by a representative of the county department of public utilities.(2)For the second offense, the account shall be billed a penalty of fifty dollars ($50.00), the fine to be imposed upon the next water bill for that account.
Full Breakdown
Hanover County Code § 23-10 lets the county administrator impose mandatory water conservation measures on the Hanover Suburban Water System (which covers the Overhill Estates/Route 33 and Doswell systems) whenever James River flows drop to levels requiring the state to limit withdrawals under the department of environmental quality permits held by Richmond and Henrico, or when the governor or a federal authority declares an emergency and authorizes the county to enforce restrictions. Once triggered, watering of vegetable gardens and established landscape is limited to odd property addresses on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and even addresses (plus properties with no address number) on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays; watering is prohibited outright on Mondays.
Watering by bucket stays unrestricted under either schedule. New landscape gets unrestricted watering for its first ten days after planting before falling under the established-landscape schedule. at no more than one inch total over any ten-day period. A separate, stricter schedule applies to the smaller well-supplied systems (Georgetown, Dianne Ridge, Sinclair Manor, Strawhorne, Oakhill Estates and Hanover Courthouse), where lawn watering is banned outright and landscape/garden watering is capped at ten gallons a day by manual bucket only. The county must publicly announce and, for the Suburban System, publish notice in a newspaper of general circulation before restrictions take effect, and the rules lift automatically once James River flows normalize or the state/federal emergency measures are lifted.
Violations & Fines
A first violation after public notice draws a written warning delivered in person or posted by department of public utilities staff. A second violation adds a fifty dollar ($50.00) penalty to the customer's next water bill, and a third and each later violation adds one hundred dollars ($100.00) per offense. Customers can challenge a penalty in writing to the director of public utilities within ten days, and if denied, appeal to the county attorney within another ten days, who then files a civil warrant in general district court. The director may waive a penalty found to be no fault of the customer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the odd/even watering schedule apply all the time in Hanover County?
Can I still water my garden by hand during restrictions?
What happens if I water on the wrong day in Hanover County outside the Town of Ashland?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Hanover County
How Hanover County compares: Cities with the Strictest Water Restrictions·Compare Hanover County to another location·View the Virginia landscaping rules overview
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