Schenectady, NY Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)

Section 255-44, Lawn sprinkling, restricts residential hose watering to the months between May 1 and November 1 each year, capping use at four hours per day. The Director of the Department of Water and Wastewater designates which four hours apply from time to time and must publish that schedule twice in the City's official newspaper, so the allowed window can shift during the season rather than staying fixed year-round. Subsection B bars using the sprinkling water for any purpose other than what was authorized, and specifically forbids sprinkling a neighboring or opposite property with your own hose connection.

Subsection C regulates the equipment itself: the hose used for sprinkling cannot have an inside diameter exceeding three-quarters of an inch, the nozzle orifice cannot exceed three-sixteenths of an inch, and a leaky or defective hose may not be used at all. These sprinkling limits sit inside Chapter 255, Water and Wastewater, alongside related supply rules: § 255-41 puts all street hydrants under Department of Water and Wastewater control and bars anyone but the Fire Department, City street-cleaning employees or a written-permit holder from opening one, and § 255-43 bans yard hydrants or standpipes outright.

Chapter-wide penalties are set by § 255-2: failing to comply with any Chapter 255 requirement, including the sprinkling limits, is a violation under the New York Penal Law, punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 or imprisonment of up to 15 days per day of violation, or by a civil penalty of $350 to $1,000 per day recovered by the City.