Schaumburg, IL Water Use Rules: Recycled Water Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Recycled water
- No constraints on irrigation use, § 51.003(E)
- Potable sprinkling hours
- 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 a.m. only
- Consecutive days
- Unlawful to water same property daily
- Controller standard
- WaterSense-labeled irrigation controller required
- Emergency authority
- Village manager may ban nonessential outdoor use
Summary
Schaumburg's water conservation ordinance carves out an explicit exception for recycled water: § 51.003(E) allows irrigating with a recycled, nonpotable water system with no constraints, even while the village otherwise limits potable sprinkling to specific hours and requires every irrigation controller to carry a WaterSense label. The rule sits inside the section letting the village manager impose emergency bans on nonessential outdoor water use.
§ 51.003 - WATER CONSERVATION. It is the purpose of this section to grant authority to the village manager, or his/her authorized designee to regulate the use of village water during periods of peak demand and drought in order to conserve the village water and water pressure. ... (E)Recycled, Nonpotable Water System: The use of water for irrigation from a recycled, nonpotable water system is allowed with no constraints.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 56 Update 1 | Policy Manual: Supplement 20).
Full Breakdown
003, 'Water Conservation,' gives the village manager or an authorized designee authority to regulate water use during peak demand and drought. Subsection (E), 'Recycled, Nonpotable Water System,' states plainly that irrigating with a recycled, nonpotable water system is allowed with no constraints, exempting reclaimed-water users from the hours-and-days sprinkling limits, the emergency-ban provisions and the waiver process that apply to potable village water. and bars watering the same property on consecutive days. 5(g) of the Illinois Plumbing License Law. Subsection (B) lets the village manager declare a total ban on nonessential outdoor water use during a supply emergency, posted on street signs village-wide; that ban specifically targets direct hose connections to the village water system, and by its terms would not reach a separate recycled-water system.
Subsections (C) and (D) give the village manager discretion to waive the hours-and-days limits for up to two weeks for special circumstances or new sod and grass seed. The ordinance has been amended repeatedly since its original 1986 passage, most recently in 2015, without narrowing the recycled-water exemption.
Violations & Fines
Using recycled, nonpotable water for irrigation carries no separate violation under § 51.003 because the section places no constraints on it. Violations attach to potable water instead: sprinkling outside the 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 a.m. window, watering the same lawn on consecutive days, or running a hose connection to the village supply during a declared emergency ban are each unlawful acts a village enforcement officer can cite under this chapter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I irrigate with recycled or reclaimed water in Schaumburg?
Does the WaterSense controller rule apply to a recycled-water system?
What happens to recycled-water irrigation during a Schaumburg water emergency?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Schaumburg
Compare Schaumburg to another location·View the Illinois water use rules overview
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