Guides
Pasco County Watering Days, Hours and Exceptions
What the water district's one-day order and Pasco County's own rules mean for a lawn, new sod, flower beds, private wells and reclaimed lines, with the sources to check.
Pasco County watering days follow the last digit of your address: 0 or 1 Monday, 2 or 3 Tuesday, 4 or 5 Wednesday, 6 or 7 Thursday, 8 or 9 Friday, once a week, under the Southwest Florida Water Management District order in effect through March 31, 2027. Pasco County allows one cycle, midnight to 4 a.m. or 8 p.m. to midnight. No lawn watering on Saturday or Sunday.
| Rule | Who it applies to | When | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| One lawn watering day a week, by address digit | Potable, well and surface water users | Through March 31, 2027 (District); ongoing (county ordinance) | SWFWMD; Pasco County |
| One cycle: midnight to 4 a.m. or 8 p.m. to midnight | Potable, well and surface water users | Your watering day only | Pasco County |
| One cycle, midnight to 8 a.m. | Pasco reclaimed water customers | Your watering day only | Pasco County |
| Hand watering and drip on plants, not lawns | Everyone under the order | Any day, before 8 a.m. or after 6 p.m. | SWFWMD |
| Citations without a warning first | Anyone watering outside the rules | From 14 days after the order took effect | SWFWMD |
What is my watering day in Pasco County?
Your watering day in Pasco County is set by the last digit of your house number: 0 or 1 Monday, 2 or 3 Tuesday, 4 or 5 Wednesday, 6 or 7 Thursday, 8 or 9 Friday. Mixed addresses, common areas and places with no address water on Friday. Saturday and Sunday are non-watering days for lawns.
That is the schedule on the Pasco County water resources page, checked October 6, 2026, and it matches the standard days in the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) order. If your water bill comes from a city utility rather than Pasco County, check that city’s rules too: the District tells residents to read their city or county rules first, because many are stricter.
This is general information about the Pasco County and SWFWMD watering rules, not legal advice. Check the current order or ordinance, or ask your HOA or county, before you rely on it.
What hours can sprinklers run in Pasco County?
Sprinklers on potable, well or surface water in Pasco County get one irrigation cycle on your watering day, either between midnight and 4 a.m. or between 8 p.m. and midnight.
The SWFWMD order puts the same hours in its own words: 12:01 a.m. to 4 a.m. or 8 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. Properties under one acre may use only one of those windows. Properties of one acre or more may water in both, before 4 a.m. and after 8 p.m., unless the city or county has stricter hours.
Is one day a week permanent in Pasco County?
For established lawns in Pasco County, the one-day limit is county law, not only a shortage measure. The county’s water resources page says irrigation of established lawns and landscaping is authorized for one day per week under Pasco County Ordinance Chapter 62, Article II, Division 3. That ordinance is separate from the District order, so the one day does not end when the order ends.
The SWFWMD Modified Phase III order, extended by a Governing Board vote on September 22, 2026, adds the shorter hours and runs through March 31, 2027.
Can you water new sod more often in Pasco County?
Yes, for 60 days. New lawns and plants in Pasco County may be watered any day for days 1 to 30, then three days a week for days 31 to 60, during the normal hours. The District requires a written schedule of the establishment watering, so write the install date down on day one.
Pasco County’s page sets its own days for days 31 to 60. Addresses ending in 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9 water Monday, Wednesday and Sunday; addresses ending in 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8 water Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The District’s general schedule swaps the weekend day, so use the one your water utility publishes.
- Install day: Pasco County allows new turf to be watered at any time of day, though the normal hours are preferred.
- Whole zones: a sprinkler zone may run the extra days only if 50 percent or more of it is new material.
- Scattered new plants: water them by hose, not with the automatic system.
- Reclaimed water: any day for days 1 to 30, then Monday, Wednesday and Friday, midnight to 8 a.m.
What about hand watering, wells and reclaimed water?
Hand watering, soaker hoses and micro-irrigation are allowed on any day for flower beds, shrubs and other plants, but not lawns, and only before 8 a.m. or after 6 p.m. under the SWFWMD order.
Private wells in Pasco County are covered. The SWFWMD restrictions page, checked October 6, 2026, says the restrictions apply to residents on private wells, and Pasco County lists potable, well and surface water under the same one-day schedule.
Reclaimed water is where Pasco County differs from the District default. The District treats reclaimed water as subject only to voluntary hours unless the local government or utility restricts it, and Pasco County does: its reclaimed water page allows one cycle between midnight and 8 a.m., on the same address day, with no watering Saturday or Sunday.
Not sure your controller matches your Pasco day? A Medscapes sprinkler check runs every zone and marks coverage gaps.
Does Pasco County have a summer fertilizer ban?
No. Pasco County’s fertilizer ordinance (County Code Chapter 42, Article IV) has no June to September blackout. It works year-round instead, tied to the weather.
Under that ordinance, you may not fertilize during a flood, tropical storm or hurricane watch or warning, while Pasco County is inside a storm’s three-day forecast cone, or before expected heavy rain. It also bars nitrogen before sodding and for 30 days after, which lines up with the 30-day wait UF/IFAS gives new sod. Medscapes does not apply fertilizer or pesticides; for those, use an FDACS-licensed provider.
Can a Pasco HOA make you replace a brown lawn right now?
Not while the order lasts. The SWFWMD order says: “No HOA or other entity shall enforce deed restrictions or other community standards requiring an increase in surface water, potable or domestic well water use, including the replacement of plant material to meet aesthetic standards or pressure washing.” Pasco County repeats the rule for HOAs and community development districts.
A lawn that goes dull on one day a week usually needs its day and its window, not new sod. New sod in the dry season starts a 60-day clock of extra watering and a written schedule. If your HOA manages the irrigation, Pasco County asks you to contact the association about establishment schedules. For beds that should need less water for good, see xeriscaping in Tampa Bay.
What happens if you water on the wrong day in Pasco County?
You can be cited without a warning. Under the SWFWMD order, from 14 days after the effective date, local officials issue citations first rather than warnings, and utilities must step up patrols and respond to complaints.
A sprinkler controller can hold several programs, and an old one can still run on a second day. Check that every program on it runs only on your Pasco County day.
The one thing to do this week: find the last digit of your house number, check which utility bills you, and set one program, one day, one window. Write the date you did it on the controller’s door. If you would rather hand the yard off, Medscapes runs full-service lawn care in Pasco County on 40-week and 50-week plans.
Frequently asked questions
When do the Pasco County watering restrictions end?
The SWFWMD one-day order runs through March 31, 2027, unless the District changes it. Pasco County’s own ordinance keeps established lawns on one day a week after that, so the day itself does not change when the order ends.
Can I water twice on my day if my Pasco lot is under an acre?
Pasco County allows one irrigation cycle on your day, in one window: midnight to 4 a.m. or 8 p.m. to midnight. Only properties of one acre or more may use both windows under the SWFWMD order.
Does reclaimed water in Pasco follow a different schedule?
The day is the same, set by your address digit, but the window is longer: one cycle between midnight and 8 a.m.
Who can help me set my controller in Pasco County?
UF/IFAS Extension Pasco County publishes the watering schedule and irrigation guidance. Medscapes, based in Wesley Chapel, offers a sprinkler check: we run every zone and mark coverage gaps.
Sources
- Southwest Florida Water Management District. District water restrictions, checked October 6, 2026. swfwmd.state.fl.us
- Pasco County Utilities. Water conservation, scheduling and restrictions, checked October 6, 2026. pascocountyfl.gov
- WUSF. Outdoor watering restrictions extended again, September 22, 2026. wusf.org
- Pasco County Utilities. Reclaimed water resources, checked October 6, 2026. pascocountyfl.gov
- Pasco County. Code of Ordinances, Chapter 42, Article IV (fertilizer).
- UF/IFAS. Publication LH013, establishing a Florida lawn. ask.ifas.ufl.edu
- UF/IFAS Extension Pasco County. Watering restrictions, Pasco County. blogs.ifas.ufl.edu
Setting up a Pasco yard for one-day watering?
Call (813) 382-5801 or send the estimate form, and Doug Wilson will walk the yard with you and write the quote himself.
- 1Call or book online
- 2Doug walks the yard with you
- 3You get a written quote