Lewis County, WA Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)

700, in the county's Public Utilities title, lets the utility division declare escalating water supply problems for the water systems Lewis County itself owns and operates. A Level I problem, declared at the administrator's discretion, brings voluntary conservation requests. A Level II problem, declared when usage exceeds the resupply rate, calls for voluntary conservation including reduced or altered outdoor watering schedules, meaning landscape irrigation is the first thing asked to scale back. A Level III problem is declared by the Board of County Commissioners when supply cannot meet demand and voluntary measures have failed; it prohibits nonessential water uses, prohibits outdoor watering except as authorized in writing by the administrator, and bars wasting potable water into any drainage way.

The nonessential-use list named in the section spells out yard-relevant bans: hosing sidewalks, driveways, and hard surfaces; filling or refilling swimming and jacuzzi pools; and irrigating recreational fields, golf courses, and grounds. Enforcement runs through the customer's utility account rather than a criminal citation: a written warning notice goes to the customer's residence, and if noncompliance continues the administrator can disconnect water service, restore it only after the customer pays reconnection and meter charges, and may even install a flow-restrictive device on the service line at the customer's expense until the emergency ends.

This chapter binds only properties served by the county's own water utility division, not private wells, Group B systems, or city water customers inside Centralia, Chehalis, or the other incorporated towns.