Tampa lawns can be watered one day a week until March 31, 2027, after the drought rules were extended. Find your day by house number, and the hours that apply.
Tampa’s once-a-week lawn watering limit will stay in place through March 31, 2027. The Southwest Florida Water Management District has extended its drought restrictions across the region.
Updated Oct. 22: added the times and place of the city’s free compost giveaway on Oct. 23 and 24.
The Tampa Water Department asked customers to keep to their one watering day in a Sept. 23 release. The city’s restrictions page lists the shortage level as “Modified Phase III, Extreme.” That level has applied in Tampa since April 3, 2026.
Why the rules were extended
The region is 15.4 inches short of normal rainfall over the past 12 months, the city said. Many communities are still in severe or extreme drought.
Hillsborough County’s announcement of the extension said the district had below-average rain in both its 2025 and 2026 summer rainy seasons. Rivers, lakes and public water supplies have not refilled, the county said.
Your watering day in Tampa
The schedule applies to properties inside Tampa city limits watered with city water or a private well. Your day depends on the last digit of your house number:
| House number ends in | Your watering day |
|---|---|
| 0 or 1 | Monday |
| 2 or 3 | Tuesday |
| 4 or 5 | Wednesday |
| 6 or 7 | Thursday |
| 8 or 9 | Friday |
| Office complexes, shopping centers, common areas and entryways | Friday |
On your day, you may water only from midnight to 4 a.m. or from 8 p.m. to 11:59 p.m., the city said. The schedule has no Saturday or Sunday watering days.
The city’s page also says a homeowners association or property manager cannot enforce deed restrictions that conflict with the watering rules.
Outside the city limits
Different agencies set the details for neighboring areas:
- Unincorporated Hillsborough County: the same day-by-house-number schedule. The county lists extra rules: properties under 1 acre may use only one of the two watering windows, hand watering is limited to before 8 a.m. or after 6 p.m., and non-commercial cosmetic pressure washing is banned. Check the county’s watering page.
- Temple Terrace, about eight miles northeast, sets its own rules. See the city’s water restrictions page.
- Other counties in the region: the water management district’s restrictions page.
What it means for you
- Check the table above, or the city’s lookup page, and set your sprinkler timer to one day a week until March 31.
- The Water Department offers free irrigation evaluations, help finding leaks and free water-saving devices. Ask by email at SaveWater@tampa.gov.
- The department’s free compost giveaway is at Plymouth Playground, 3100 N. Ola Ave. in Tampa Heights. It runs 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, and 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 24. The city’s listing says each visitor can get 30 gallons of free compost. It lists Friday’s session as requiring registration; Saturday’s links an Eventbrite sign-up page.
For other city and county services, see our guide to Tampa, Hillsborough County and the neighbors.
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