Stafford County, VA Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)

Division 2 of Chapter 25 is a standing emergency framework, not a year-round lawn-watering schedule. Section 25-42 requires three steps before any restriction takes effect: the county administrator must determine that drought trigger levels in the Stafford County Drought Management Plan (DMP), approved by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, have been reached and notify the board of supervisors; the board must formally declare a public water supply emergency; and the administrator must give the public at least 48 hours' notice before implementation. Once triggered, section 25-43 lets the administrator order restricted use or absolute curtailment of nonessential water use, including outdoor irrigation, for the duration of the shortage, applied to all public water system users as detailed in the DMP.

The administrator escalates through the plan's stages 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b and 3, and can exempt a governmental activity, institution, business or industry when necessary for public health, safety or welfare. In an emergency posing imminent harm, the administrator may act before board approval, but must get board approval by the next regular meeting. Section 25-45 gives any user subject to a restriction or service suspension the right to appeal to the board of supervisors and present arguments in writing or at a public meeting.