O'Fallon, MO Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)
Water restrictions in O'Fallon, MO, also called the watering schedule, outdoor irrigation rules, or drought ordinance, set which days and hours you can run sprinklers or irrigation.
Key Facts
- Maximum fine
- $500 per occurrence, per day
- Trigger
- Drought, disaster or shortage threat
- Stage 1 rule
- Odd/even address-day watering
- Stage 2 rule
- Hand-held container only, or full ban
- Commercial cut
- 25% usage reduction required
- Enforcement
- City agents and Police Officers
- Non-payment remedy
- Water service disconnection
Summary
O'Fallon's Water Conservation Plan lets the City order mandatory lawn-watering restrictions once a drought or shortage threatens the water system, starting with odd/even-day watering by street address and escalating to a full ban on lawn, garden and tree watering except by hand-held container. Violators face fines up to $500 per day and water service disconnection.
If a disaster occurs, severe conditions exist, and/or voluntary water curtailment or restrictions are requested and demands on the water system continue to indicate that the threat of a water shortage will continue or occur, the City or its agents shall immediately implement any parts of the below conservation plan as it deems necessary: 1. Mandatory Restriction Of Lawn Watering. Even numbered addresses water on even numbered days of the month, odd numbered addresses water on odd numbered days. 2. Mandatory ban on all lawn watering, watering of gardens, plants and trees is prohibited except from a hand held container.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4860992; v58 updated 2026-05-14; through 05-14-2026).
Full Breakdown
280 first authorizes voluntary curtailment: during drought, disasters or conditions that could create a shortage, the City may ask customers to voluntarily cut back on lawn watering, car washing, filling or refilling swimming pools, and washing driveways and paved areas, and may ask commercial and industrial users to cut usage by twenty-five percent. 290 lets the City immediately implement any part of a mandatory conservation plan: (1) even-numbered addresses water only on even-numbered calendar days and odd-numbered addresses only on odd-numbered days; (2) an outright ban on all lawn, garden, plant and tree watering except from a hand-held container; (3) a ban on washing sidewalks, driveways, parking areas and patios; (4) a ban on filling or refilling swimming pools and washing cars, other motor vehicles, trailers or boats; (5) a ban on using fire hydrants except for firefighting, main-flushing complaints, or testing and sampling; and (6) a mandatory twenty-five percent usage cut for commercial and industrial users.
300 requires the City to announce whichever measures are in effect through cable television, local radio and news media, activating the City's Emergency Warning System for extraordinary emergencies. 310 puts teeth in the plan: it is enforced by every City Police Officer, and the City or its agents may discontinue water service to a customer who violates a mandatory restriction, holding the connection off until all fines and reconnection charges are paid.
Violations & Fines
Violating a mandatory restriction under Section 700.310 carries a fine or charge up to $500 per occurrence, with each day of continued violation counted as a separate occurrence. Beyond the fine, the City can shut off the customer's water service, and service is not restored until all outstanding fines and reconnection charges are paid in full. O'Fallon Police Officers are charged with enforcing the Article.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there always an odd/even watering schedule in O'Fallon?
What happens if I water on the wrong day during a mandatory restriction?
Can I still hand-water plants during a full lawn-watering ban?
Who enforces O'Fallon's water restrictions?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in O'Fallon
How O'Fallon compares: Cities with the Strictest Water Restrictions·Compare O'Fallon to another location·View the Missouri landscaping rules overview
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