The Suffolk County Water Authority enforces an odd-even outdoor watering schedule from May through September to manage peak demand on the sole-source aquifer that supplies 100 percent of county drinking water.
SCWA, the largest groundwater-only public water provider in the United States, requires customers to water lawns only on odd or even calendar days matching their street address number, with no watering between certain peak morning hours typically 10 AM to 4 PM. The schedule reduces peak pumping that stresses the federally designated sole-source aquifer and avoids water-tower drawdown during summer demand spikes. Restrictions tighten to mandatory conservation during declared drought stages. Private well users are encouraged but not required to follow the same schedule under SCDHS guidance.
First violation typically a written warning; repeat violations may incur surcharges on the SCWA bill, fines up to 250 dollars per occurrence, and in extreme drought, water-service shutoff.
See how Suffolk County's lawn watering restrictions rules stack up against other locations.
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