Jacksonville, NC Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)

Article V of Chapter 26 governs water conservation in the City of Jacksonville, North Carolina. Under Sec. 26-200, the city relies on its Water Shortage Response Plan, dated June 21, 2011 (or the latest revision), to reduce potable water demand whenever supply cannot meet current demand. Sec. 26-201 lets the mayor proclaim a Stage I or Stage II water shortage and place the plan's mandatory restrictions into effect city-wide; the city council may review a Stage II proclamation within forty-eight hours. The mayor and council also authorize the city manager, or the public services director in the manager's absence, to declare a shortage exists and enact the plan.

Once the city manager issues a proclamation under Sec. 26-202, every customer of the city water system, no matter where they live, must comply with the restrictions and conservation measures set out at each severity level under Sec. 26-203. Enforcement runs through the director of the department of public services under Sec. 26-205. A first violation draws a written warning; if the violation continues, the director serves a written notice of violation by certified mail or hand delivery. Continuing the violation past the notice period allows the director to assess a civil penalty of one hundred dollars per day, with each day a separate offense.

If that penalty goes unpaid for thirty days, the director may suspend or restrict water service until all penalties and reconnection fees are paid. The city can also seek injunctive relief or an abatement order from the general court of justice under Sec. 26-206. There is no fixed watering-day schedule printed in the ordinance itself; the actual restrictions live in the referenced plan document that the city and public services department maintain and update.