Medina, OH Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)

12 gives the Service Director or a designee sole authority to determine, at any time, whether a water shortage exists severe enough to impair fire protection anywhere in Medina. Once that finding is made, the Director also decides how far to restrict watering of lawns, shrubbery and gardens and the noncommercial washing of vehicles, and the restriction can cover all or only part of any day for as long as the shortage lasts. There is no fixed numeric trigger written into the ordinance; the call is discretionary and tied to fire-protection capacity rather than a rainfall or reservoir threshold.

When a shortage is declared, the Director must immediately proclaim it and publicize both the existence of the shortage and the exact restrictions through newspaper, radio, television or any other practicable means. The same public-notice duty applies when the shortage ends: the Director proclaims termination and publicizes it the same way, so the restriction is not open-ended. Once proclaimed, the ban is not merely advisory. No person may use, or allow to be used on any premises under that person's charge or control, City-supplied water to water a lawn, shrub or garden, or to wash a vehicle for noncommercial purposes, at any time that use is restricted.

The prohibition runs against whoever controls the premises, not just the water-account holder, reaching tenants and occupants as well as owners. 12 carries its own criminal classification separate from that cap.