Tucson, AZ Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)

Tucson Code Chapter 27, Article VI ("Emergency Water Conservation Response," Sec. 27-90 through 27-99) sets up the city's standing legal framework for irrigation restrictions, but the restrictions themselves only bind once a water emergency is declared. Sec. 27-93 authorizes the mayor and council, or in the absence of a quorum the mayor or the mayor's designate, to declare a water emergency on the water director's recommendation and to trigger mandatory conservation measures. Sec. 27-94 requires the water director to develop guidelines for that decision and requires the city manager to report the reasons and expected duration in writing once an emergency is declared.

Once triggered, Sec. 27-95(1) states: "All outdoor irrigation, except for those areas irrigated with reclaimed water, is prohibited. " The same section separately bans washing paved surfaces with a hose, filling pools/fountains/spas, outdoor misting systems, and non-recirculating vehicle washing during the emergency. Sec. 27-96 lets the city manager grant a variance for documented health, safety, or economic hardship, on a form from the director. The article applies to every city water customer -- residential, commercial, industrial, or governmental -- per Sec. 27-92, and it operates independently from the drought-stage response plan in Article VIII (Sec. 27-110 to 27-119), which addresses Colorado River/Lake Mead shortage tiers rather than a locally declared water emergency.