Jacksonville Watering Restrictions: Phase III Days, Hours and Sod Rules

Last updated: August 31, 2026

Two things changed when the order went to Phase III

If you set your controller from a page written earlier in the year, or from memory, it is probably wrong in one of these two ways. Both matter, and one of them is a violation that happens every single cycle.

1. The prohibited window widened from six hours to ten. The District’s normal year-round rule bans irrigation between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Under the Phase III order the ban runs 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. A programme that starts at 9 a.m. was legal under the standard rule and is not legal now. So is one that starts at 5 p.m.

2. The establishment allowance for new sod was cut roughly in half. This is the one that costs money rather than a fine, and it is buried in the order.

New plants or sod	Normal District rule	Under the Phase III order
Water any day	First 30 days, any time of day	First 15 days
Middle of establishment	Every other day for the next 30 days	Up to 3 days a week for the next 30 days
End of establishment	—	2 days a week for the final 15 days
Total window	One 60-day period	60 days, tapered

The total is still sixty days either way. What halved is the part that decides whether sod knits: the daily-watering window at the start. Fifteen days instead of thirty, in the season a new lawn is least able to cope with a missed cycle. That is a scheduling fact worth knowing before you buy pallets, not after.

The two caps most controllers break by default

Even on the correct day, in the correct hours, two limits apply and they are easy to exceed without noticing.

• No more than three-quarters of an inch of water per zone per irrigation day.
• No more than one hour per irrigation zone per irrigation day.

Once a week is not a licence to make up for the other six days in one run. If your system was set for a two-day-a-week schedule and you simply deleted one of the days, each remaining zone is probably still running the same minutes, and the three-quarter-inch cap is the one being broken rather than the day rule.

Catch-cup testing is the only way to know what your zones actually apply, and it is genuinely quick: set out straight-sided containers, run one zone for fifteen minutes, measure, multiply. Most Jacksonville rotor zones need well under an hour to reach three-quarters of an inch, and most spray zones need far less than that.

The exceptions that are actually allowed

1. New landscape establishment, on the tapered Phase III schedule above, limited to the minimum amount necessary for establishment.
2. Watering in chemicals — insecticides, pesticides, fertilizers, fungicides and herbicides — is allowed any time within 24 hours of application when required by law, the manufacturer, or best management practices.
3. Maintenance and repair. Irrigation systems may be operated at any time for maintenance and repair purposes, not exceeding 20 minutes per hour per zone. This is the legal route to testing a system, walking the heads, and finding overspray on a day that is not your watering day. Most people do not know it exists.

What the restrictions cover, and who is not exempt

The limits apply to private wells and pumps, ground or surface water, and water from public and private utilities alike. A private well is not a way around the schedule. Reclaimed water customers should check their own utility’s schedule, which can assign different days and times than the District’s default.

Golf courses under the order reduce fairway and driving range green irrigation to no more than once a week, and tees, greens and practice greens to no more than three times a week, excluding irrigation with a 100% reclaimed water source.

The order covers portions of Baker, Bradford, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns counties within the District, among others. Local governments implement it through their own ordinances, so a city or utility may hold stricter hours than the District’s baseline. The District’s water conservation coordinators are on 386-329-4500.

What the schedule returns to when the order lifts

Worth knowing, because it is what your controller should go back to rather than what it was doing before.

Time of year	Odd or no address	Even address	Nonresidential
Daylight saving time, second Sunday in March to first Sunday in November	Wednesday and Saturday	Thursday and Sunday	Tuesday and Friday
Eastern Standard Time, first Sunday in November to second Sunday in March	Saturday	Sunday	Tuesday

Under the normal schedule irrigation is prohibited between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., and the three-quarter-inch and one-hour-per-zone caps still apply. Note that the winter schedule is already one day a week in a normal year, so the Phase III order is doing most of its work during daylight saving time.

Frequently asked questions

What day can I water my lawn in Jacksonville right now? One day a week under the Phase III Extreme Water Shortage order. Residential addresses ending in an odd number, or with no address, water Saturday. Even-numbered addresses water Sunday. Nonresidential properties water Tuesday.

What hours can I water in Jacksonville? Any time except between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. under the Phase III order. That is wider than the District’s normal 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. prohibition, so a controller set from the standard rule may now be starting inside the banned window.

How much water am I allowed per zone in Jacksonville? No more than three-quarters of an inch of water per zone and no more than one hour per zone on your irrigation day. Those caps apply on top of the day and hour rules, not instead of them.

Can I water new sod more often in Jacksonville? Yes, on a tapered schedule under the current order: every day for the first 15 days after installation, up to three days a week for the next 30 days, and two days a week for the final 15 days. In a normal year the District allows any time of day on any day for the first 30 days and every other day for the next 30.

Do the restrictions apply to my private well? Yes. The restrictions apply to private wells and pumps, ground or surface water, and water from public and private utilities.

Can I run my sprinklers to test or repair them? Yes. Irrigation systems may be operated at any time for maintenance and repair purposes, not exceeding 20 minutes per hour per zone. That covers walking the heads and checking for overspray on a non-watering day.

Can I water after applying fertilizer or pesticide? Yes. Watering in chemicals, including insecticides, pesticides, fertilizers, fungicides and herbicides, is allowed any time within 24 hours of application when required by law, the manufacturer, or best management practices.

Which counties does the Jacksonville water shortage order cover? Portions of Baker, Bradford, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns counties within the District, among others. Local governments implement it through their own ordinances and some hold stricter hours.

What happens when the Phase III order is lifted? The District’s standard schedule resumes: two days a week during daylight saving time, with odd or no addresses on Wednesday and Saturday, even addresses on Thursday and Sunday, and nonresidential on Tuesday and Friday, with irrigation prohibited between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Could the Jacksonville restrictions get stricter? Yes. The District’s water shortage plan allows further phases with additional restrictions if conditions deteriorate, and staff monitor rainfall, groundwater levels, river flows and water use continuously.

Jacksonville Watering Rules: Data

Current rules as observed, with every change we have recorded since tracking began. Source of record: JEA / St. Johns River WMD.

Rule	Detail
Residential, odd-numbered or no address	Watering day: Saturday; Allowed hours: Any time except 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Residential, even-numbered address	Watering day: Sunday; Allowed hours: Any time except 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Nonresidential	Watering day: Tuesday; Allowed hours: Any time except 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Water any day	Watering day: First 30 days , any time of day; Allowed hours: First 15 days
Middle of establishment	Watering day: Every other day for the next 30 days; Allowed hours: Up to 3 days a week for the next 30 days
End of establishment	Watering day: —; Allowed hours: 2 days a week for the final 15 days
Total window	Watering day: One 60-day period; Allowed hours: 60 days, tapered
Daylight saving time, second Sunday in March to first Sunday in November	Watering day: Wednesday and Saturday; Allowed hours: Thursday and Sunday; Tuesday and Friday
Eastern Standard Time, first Sunday in November to second Sunday in March	Watering day: Saturday; Allowed hours: Sunday; Tuesday

Change log

First observed	Status	Rules recorded
2026-08-31	current	Residential, odd-numbered or no address: Watering day: Saturday; Allowed hours: Any time except 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Residential, even-numbered address: Watering day: Sunday; Allowed hours: Any time except 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Nonresidential: Watering day: Tuesday; Allowed hours: Any time except 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
2026-08-27	superseded 2026-08-31	Odd-numbered: Watering day: Saturday; Allowed hours: Any time except 10 a.m.–4 p.m. (JEA suggests 8 p.m.; Even-numbered: Watering day: Sunday; Allowed hours: Any time except 10 a.m.–4 p.m. (JEA suggests 8 p.m.–4; Hand / low-volume: Watering day: Generally any day; Allowed hours: Confirm current terms with JEA during the
2026-08-27	superseded 2026-08-27	Odd-numbered: Watering day: Saturday; Allowed hours: Any time except 10 a.m.–4 p.m. (JEA suggests 8 p.m.; Even-numbered: Watering day: Sunday; Allowed hours: Any time except 10 a.m.–4 p.m. (JEA suggests 8 p.m.–4; Hand / low-volume: Watering day: Generally any day; Allowed hours: Confirm current terms with JEA during the
2026-08-27	superseded 2026-08-27	Summary: Quick answer: As of June 2026, Jacksonville and Duval County are under a SJRWMD Phase II W; Summary: The order took effect March 2, 2026 and covers potable and reclaimed water alike. JEA reco

Last checked: 2026-08-31. A new row is added only when the observed rules change, so this log records what changed and when we saw it.

Cite this: “Jacksonville Watering Rules: Data,” updated 2026-08-31, https://jacksonvilleprolandscape.com/jacksonville-watering-restrictions/#watering-rules-dataset