Lawn care tips
Austin watering rules for lawns: what Conservation Stage means for your yard
By the Lawn & Order crew · · 3 min read
If your sprinkler system still runs on whatever schedule the builder or the last owner set, there is a good chance it is either breaking the rules or wasting water. Usually both. Here is what Austin allows right now and how we would set a controller for a typical South Austin lawn.
Where things stand
Austin Water put the city under Conservation Stage restrictions on September 2, 2025, and that is still the stage as of this writing. It is the mildest stage. Stage 1 kicks in if storage in the Highland Lakes drops to 1.4 million acre-feet, and each stage after that tightens the schedule.
Under Conservation Stage, a home in Austin gets:
- Sprinkler systems (automatic or manual): one day a week. Odd addresses water Wednesday, even addresses water Thursday.
- Hose-end sprinklers and drip: two days a week. Odd addresses Wednesday and Saturday, even addresses Thursday and Sunday.
- Hours for both: midnight to 10 a.m., or 7 p.m. to midnight.
- Any day, any time: a hand-held hose, a watering can, soaker hoses or bubblers on trees, and drip on a vegetable garden.
Breaking the schedule can cost up to $1,000 per violation, and neighbors do report it through 3-1-1.
One day a week is enough, if you water deep
A lawn that gets a long soak once a week roots deeper than one that gets a sprinkle every day. Deep roots are what carry St. Augustine through August.
The catch in southeast Austin is the clay. Water hits it faster than it can soak in and runs down the driveway. The fix is to split your watering day into two or three short cycles instead of one long one. Run each zone for 10 to 15 minutes, let it soak for an hour, then run it again, all inside the morning window.
To find out how much you are putting down, set a few empty tuna cans around a zone and run it for 15 minutes. Most lawns here want about an inch a week in summer, counting rain, and a lot less once it cools off.
Pick the morning window
Both windows are legal. The morning one is better for the grass. Water that goes on at 8 p.m. sits on the blades all night, and in fall that is how St. Augustine ends up with brown circles of large patch. Set the controller to start in the early morning so the lawn dries off when the sun comes up.
Things people miss
- Rain sensor. If your system has one, make sure it works. If it does not, turn the controller off after a good rain.
- Heads spraying the street. Builder systems around Goodnight Ranch and Easton Park often have heads knocked sideways by mowers. Every gallon on the sidewalk is a gallon your lawn did not get.
- Your foundation. Austin lets you water around the foundation on your assigned day and time. Set those sprinklers to hit the ground about 18 inches out from the slab.
- Cutting back in fall. Once nights stay cool, most lawns can go to every other week or less. Dormant grass in winter barely needs any.
Buda and Kyle are different
None of this applies if your water comes from the City of Buda or the City of Kyle. Both set their own stages and schedules, and they do not always move in step with Austin. Check your own utility before you program anything.
Not sure your system is set right? On our regular visits to lawns in southeast Austin and nearby, we notice the dry spots and the soggy ones, and we will tell you which zones to adjust. Call us at (512) 900-7424.