Kill Devil Hills, NC Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)
Water restrictions in Kill Devil Hills, NC, also called the watering schedule, outdoor irrigation rules, or drought ordinance, set which days and hours you can run sprinklers or irrigation.
Key Facts
- Stage I
- Voluntary conservation only
- Stage II
- Hand-held hose/drip watering only
- Stage III
- 3-gallon container watering only
- Stage IV
- No outside water use, 25% usage cut
- Who declares
- Mayor (Stages I-III), Board (Stage IV)
- Governing sections
- Town Code §§ 51.53-51.55
Summary
Kill Devil Hills has no year-round watering-day schedule; instead the Mayor can declare a four-stage water shortage tied to the Dare County regional system, and each stage locks in mandatory limits on lawn, garden and vehicle watering that get stricter as the shortage worsens.
(a) To water lawns, grass, shrubbery, trees, flower and vegetable gardens, except by hand- held hose, container, or drip irrigation system. Provided, however, that a person regularly engaged in the sale of plants shall be permitted to use water for irrigation of their commercial stock in trade; ... (a) Water or sprinkle any lawn, grass, shrubbery, trees, or flowers except from a watering can or other container not exceeding three gallons in capacity.
Full Breakdown
Under Sec. ' The restrictions become mandatory at Stage II Water Shortage Warning: it becomes unlawful to water lawns, grass, shrubbery, trees or gardens except by hand-held hose, container or drip irrigation, to wash vehicles outside a commercial car wash, to fill or top off pools, or to wash down driveways, sidewalks or patios, with commercial plant nurseries exempted for their stock in trade. At Stage III Water Shortage Danger, watering shrinks further: lawns, grass, shrubbery, trees and flowers may only be watered 'from a watering can or other container not exceeding three gallons in capacity,' vegetable gardens are limited to hand-held hose, container or drip irrigation, and licensed landscape contractors may keep hand-watering plantings under written warranty.
Stage IV Water Shortage Emergency, declared by the Board of Commissioners on the Town Manager's written notice, bars outside water use altogether except emergency fire use or town system maintenance, allowing only container watering of flowers, plants and shrubs from a vessel no larger than three gallons, and imposes a mandated 25% cut in overall usage compared to the same billing period a year earlier. A customer who cannot meet the mandated cut without endangering health or safety can apply to the Town Manager for a variance under Sec. 54(D)(3); anyone who exceeds the Stage IV allotment is subject to having water service terminated outright.
Violations & Fines
Sec. 51.55 makes violating any water-shortage restriction, failing to perform a duty it imposes, or interfering with enforcement subject to penalty. The town first affixes written notice of the violation to the property and mails it to the customer, ordering the violation corrected within a reasonable time; if the customer does not comply, the town can move to terminate water service after five days' mailed notice, though the customer may request a hearing before the Town Manager within that five-day window, which must be scheduled and heard within five days of the request.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there fixed watering days in Kill Devil Hills?
Can I still hand-water my garden during a Stage II water warning?
What happens if I ignore a Stage IV water emergency limit?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kill Devil Hills
How Kill Devil Hills compares: Cities with the Strictest Water Restrictions·Compare Kill Devil Hills to another location·View the North Carolina landscaping rules overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.