Hoboken, NJ Water Use Rules: Recycled Water Rules (2026)

Chapter 193, Article III of the Code of the City of Hoboken locks outdoor irrigation to a strict calendar. Under § 193-13, hose and hose-end watering is limited to two days a week tied to the property's street address, even-numbered addresses on Mondays and Thursdays and odd-numbered addresses on Tuesdays and Fridays, confined to 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. or 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., with no single area watered more than 30 minutes a day and no hose watering at all while it is raining. Automatic systems on a conventional controller face the same two-day schedule with a midnight-to-10:00-a.m. window instead.

Section 193-17, Exemptions, carves out water that does not come from the restricted potable supply. Outdoor use of water from rainwater harvesting, gray water or reclaimed water is exempt from the § 193-13 day-and-hour schedule altogether, but the exemption for gray or reclaimed water is conditioned on paperwork: the user must hold an approved NJPDES permit issued through the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection before that water use falls outside the restrictions. Absent that permit, the property remains bound by the ordinary two-day, hours-limited schedule and its numeric run-time caps.

Enforcement runs through a locally authorized official designated by the City Administration under § 193-15, who issues a written warning on a first violation of the water use restrictions and explains the penalties for a second and third offense. Under § 193-16, a subsequent violation carries a fine of up to $1,000, though the maximum fine for the first three violations of this chapter is capped at $50, with each day of noncompliance treated as a separate offense.