Which Tampa Bay watering schedule applies through October 1, 2026?

The District’s current restrictions page, checked September 21, 2026, lists Modified Phase III restrictions through October 1, 2026. Established-lawn irrigation using potable or private-well water is generally limited to once weekly, but reclaimed water has different local rules. Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas are covered; local schedules and stricter instructions still matter. Current District rules June extension notice

But there is no single correct “Tampa Bay watering day.” Your day can depend on the utility, local jurisdiction, property address, water source, and—in Pinellas—customer area. Confirm those fields before changing an irrigation controller.

Start with service provider, not the mailing city

A mailing address labeled Tampa, Lutz, or another community does not identify the water provider or enforcing authority. Find a recent utility bill, check whether irrigation uses potable, reclaimed, surface, or well water, and verify whether the property is inside a municipality.

Then use the strictest current rule that applies. The District sets regional restrictions, while local governments and utilities can publish additional or more restrictive instructions. A homeowners association cannot authorize watering that the public rule prohibits; the City of Tampa page expressly tells managing entities to follow the restriction (City schedule).

Choose the correct local schedule

The Tampa page expressly limits its schedule to properties inside city limits using city or well water. The District FAQ includes private wells but makes reclaimed-water hours voluntary unless locally restricted.

The regional watering windows

Unless a local authority is stricter, the District identifies two irrigation windows:

• 12:01 a.m. to 4 a.m.; or
• 8 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.

For a parcel under one acre, the District FAQ says to use only one of those windows on the assigned day. Larger properties have additional timing instructions in the official record. Running at both ends of the day on a smaller parcel is not a way to double the allowance.

The Tampa page spells its early window as midnight–4 a.m., while the District and Pinellas pages say 12:01–4 a.m. These are the sources’ actual wordings; starting at 12:01 a.m. stays within both. Tampa also limits non-lawn hand watering/microirrigation to once on a day, before 8 a.m. or after 6 p.m., and generally exempts reclaimed irrigation from its restrictions while prohibiting waste. Do not transfer those City instructions to a different utility. Tampa details

The windows restrict when irrigation can occur; they do not say every landscape needs four hours. Program zones for the actual system and plant needs without exceeding the public restriction, and fix visible leaks or overspray.

City of Tampa and Hillsborough weekday groups

The City schedule and County June notice, rechecked September 21, publish the same last-digit weekday grouping for their respective covered properties:

• Addresses ending in 0 or 1: Monday.
• 2 or 3: Tuesday.
• 4 or 5: Wednesday.
• 6 or 7: Thursday.
• 8 or 9: Friday.
• Mixed or no-address locations: Friday under the City and County instructions, including their described common areas.

That similarity does not make the pages interchangeable. Their customer scope, enforcement contacts, exceptions, reclaimed-water instructions, and other uses may differ. The City’s current page includes specific hand-watering and non-irrigation instructions; Hillsborough’s June notice lists its applicable uses and property-size condition.

Pinellas County Utilities: match both source and service area

This matrix applies to Pinellas County Utilities customers, not every property in Pinellas County. Its current schedule separates customers north and south of State Road 580. Other utilities’ customers must use their own provider’s instructions. Current County schedule

Even includes an address ending in zero. The County’s June extension notice and current schedule publish the same matrix. Reclaimed water has its own local schedule: do not describe all of these customers as once-weekly users. The District FAQ says reclaimed-water hours are voluntary unless the local government or utility restricts them; Pinellas County Utilities does. County notice District FAQ, page 2

The County lists 12:01–4 a.m. or 8–11:59 p.m. on the assigned day. A property smaller than one acre may use only one window; a property of one acre or more may use both. The windows do not require running irrigation for their full duration.

Do not let year-round language override the shortage rules

The County’s year-round page still describes vehicle washing at any time and low-volume landscape watering as needed. Its linked current Phase III schedule is more restrictive: noncommercial car washing is limited to the lawn-watering day with a shutoff nozzle; hand watering and microirrigation of plants other than lawns are limited to before 8 a.m. or after 6 p.m. Use the current shortage-specific instructions, and ask the utility if their application to the property is unclear. Current emergency restrictions Year-round wording being compared

For new lawn material, the County requires proof submitted through its linked online route. Its establishment guidance allows watering on days 1–30 on any day and refers days 31–60 to the District’s schedule. The District FAQ specifies Tuesday/Thursday/Sunday for even addresses and Monday/Wednesday/Saturday for odd addresses during that second period, with a written establishment schedule. These are establishment exceptions, not permission to water an established lawn on those days. A whole zone may run only when at least half its material is new; partial or dispersed plantings require hand watering. County establishment guidance District FAQ, page 2

Testing and repair are also limited: the County allows testing as often as once weekly, no more than ten minutes for a test, with an attendant present in the tested area. Do not transfer Tampa’s differently worded per-zone instructions to this County rule.

Reset checklist for an irrigation controller

1. Identify the irrigation source. Potable, reclaimed, private well, pond, or another source can affect which instruction applies.
2. Identify the provider and jurisdiction. Use a utility bill and official boundary information.
3. Open the current official schedule. Confirm the page still refers to the Modified Phase III order and has not been superseded.
4. Match the complete address rule. Use the correct customer group, not a neighboring jurisdiction’s day.
5. Choose the allowed window. For property under one acre, use one regional window unless the local rule is stricter.
6. Check every controller program. Seasonal, alternate, test, and smart-controller programs can create unintended extra cycles.
7. Inspect operation. Correct broken heads, runoff, pavement spray, and leaks instead of extending runtime.
8. Set an update reminder. Recheck before October 1 and immediately after any new District or utility notice.

If a contractor or property manager programs the system, ask them to record the source page, access date, assigned group, and enabled programs. That makes the setting auditable after the temporary order changes.

Other water uses are not answered by the lawn schedule

Hand watering, new landscaping, pressure washing, vehicle washing, fountains, and reclaimed-water systems can have separate instructions or exceptions. Read the relevant section on the enforcing authority’s page. Do not infer that an assigned irrigation day authorizes every outdoor water use.

New-landscape instructions also differ: Tampa links a recommended 30-day establishment schedule and says to follow City restrictions afterward, while the District FAQ describes a 60-day establishment exception. Do not import Pinellas’s second-month schedule into a Tampa property without checking the City’s applicable instructions. A formal variance requires the authority’s determination; a contractor’s verbal interpretation is not the order. City new-lawn instructions District establishment exception

What happens on October 1

October 1 is the current through-date, not a promise that ordinary schedules automatically return. The District can extend, modify, or lift an order based on conditions. Leave the controller at its compliant setting until a newer official notice identifies the next rule.

Method and limitations

LSL rechecked the complete operative text of the cited web pages and all five District FAQ pages on September 21, 2026. The current District hub still lists the October 1 period. Hillsborough’s June notice carries an age warning, so it is not our sole evidence of current regional status. We compared customer scope, source, days, hours, acreage and exception wording rather than treating every official page as interchangeable.

The former Pinellas watering-ledger article has been consolidated here: its provider/source question is answered by the actual local matrix and the emergency-versus-year-round comparison above. Its original record is preserved privately, and its old URL redirects to this guide.

We did not determine any property’s service provider, water source, acreage, address group, exemption, or violation status. Pasco municipalities and utilities are not individually tabulated here. Start with the District record, then confirm the current local utility page before watering.