Lynwood, CA Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)

Lynwood Municipal Code Chapter 14, Article 11 sets permanent conservation rules that apply at all times: no sprinkler or hose irrigation of lawns, landscape, or other vegetation between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, no more than 15 minutes of watering per station per day unless using low-flow drip emitters (2 gallons per hour or less) or high-efficiency rotor heads, and no washing hard surfaces or vehicles except with a bucket or a hose fitted with a positive self-closing shutoff nozzle. When the City Council or city manager declares a Level 1 water supply shortage (a demand-reduction target of up to 10 percent), Section 14-11.7 caps watering to three days a week on a schedule the city posts, tightening to one day a week from November through March; the same drip-irrigation and handheld-hose exceptions carry over.

A Level 2 shortage (up to 15 percent reduction) cuts the schedule further to two days a week (still one day a week in winter), adds a ban on refilling swimming pools by more than one foot, and lets the city impose a per-unit water budget with a $2.50 penalty charge for every 100 cubic feet used above the allocation. A Level 3 emergency, declared under California Water Code Section 350, prohibits outdoor watering altogether except for narrow carve-outs such as fire-protection landscaping, erosion control, and active public parks watered on the posted schedule. Leaks must be fixed within three days under normal conditions, tightening to 72, 48, and 24 hours as the shortage level rises.