Minnehaha County, SD Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)

Minnehaha County government does not operate a public water utility and does not impose watering restrictions in its own right. Three regulatory layers cover outdoor water use in the county: (1) The City of Sioux Falls Water Division supplies most urbanized portions of the county and may impose drought-stage outdoor watering limits under its SDCL 6-12 home-rule charter and SDCL Chapter 9-47 (municipal waterworks); historically, Sioux Falls voluntary watering guidance asks residents to avoid irrigation between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. and to alternate by odd/even address. (2) Smaller municipal systems (Brandon, Hartford, Dell Rapids, Crooks) and rural water districts (Big Sioux Community Water System, Minnehaha Community Water Corporation) impose their own use restrictions tied to their permitted withdrawal limits. (3) For private domestic wells in the unincorporated area, SDCL Title 46 (Water Rights) governs; SDCL 46-1-6 exempts ordinary domestic use — household use, lawn and garden watering, and stock water not for commercial sale — from the South Dakota DANR Water Rights Program permit requirement. Larger irrigation withdrawals (commercial, agricultural over the de minimis threshold, or pivot irrigation) require a DANR water-right permit. The county Planning & Zoning Department does not issue watering rules.