How often should I water my lawn in the Dallas-Fort Worth area?

In midsummer, roughly one inch of water per week including rainfall, split across the two days per week most North Texas cities allow. In spring and autumn, once a week is usually enough, and from December through February most established North Texas lawns need no supplemental watering at all.

Why does water run off my lawn instead of soaking in?

North Texas blackland clay absorbs water far more slowly than a sprinkler applies it. Running a zone for twenty minutes straight sends most of it to the street. Splitting the same total run time into two or three shorter cycles with a break between them - cycle and soak - lets the water move into the soil.

Do I have to have a rain sensor on my sprinkler system in Texas?

Texas irrigation rules require new landscape irrigation systems to include a rain or moisture shut-off device. Many older systems have one fitted that stopped working years ago, which is worth checking - a failed sensor means the system waters through storms.

How do I check my irrigation system for a leak?

Turn off everything in the house that uses water, then read the water meter and read it again after two hours with nothing running. Movement means a leak somewhere on your side of the meter, and an irrigation mainline is one of the most common places for it to be.

DFW Watering Guide: Schedules, Restrictions & Seasonal Timing

Start here

How watering rules work in North Texas

Almost every city we serve buys its water wholesale from the North Texas Municipal Water District. NTMWD sets the conservation stage based on reservoir conditions and demand; each city then sets and enforces its own watering-day schedule on top of that.

Which means there is no single DFW watering schedule, and the rules where you live may not match the rules where you work. Moving one city over can change your allowed days entirely.

Two things are close to universal in this region, though. Most cities cap outdoor watering at two days a week, and most prohibit watering during the hottest part of the day — commonly between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. through the warm months. Restrictions tighten as the conservation stage rises.

Check before you set the controller.

Rules change with lake levels and with the season. The table below links straight to each city’s own page — that is the authority, not us.

By city

Watering rules where you live

Most cities publish their own schedule and conservation stage, and the links below go to the official page. A few of the smaller water suppliers publish nothing — where that is the case we say so rather than guess.

City pages are maintained by each city and change with conditions. If your city is not listed, check your utility bill or your city’s public works page.
City	County	Official watering & conservation page
Rockwall	Rockwall County	City of Rockwall Utility Billing
Heath	Rockwall County	City of Heath “Water Wise”
Royse City	Rockwall County	Royse City Utility / Water Department
Fate	Rockwall County	City of Fate Water Conservation
Rowlett	Dallas County	City of Rowlett Seasonal Watering
Garland	Dallas County	City of Garland Drinking Water
Sachse	Dallas & Collin Counties	City of Sachse Water Restrictions
Wylie	Collin County	City of Wylie Public Works – Water
Murphy	Collin County	City of Murphy
Forney	Kaufman County	City of Forney Water Information
McKinney	Collin County	City of McKinney Outdoor Water Use
Frisco	Collin and Denton Counties	City of Frisco Water Efficiency Plan
Plano	Collin and Denton Counties	City of Plano Watering Guidelines
Allen	Collin County	City of Allen “Find My Watering Day”
Richardson	Dallas and Collin Counties	City of Richardson Water Conservation
Fairview	Collin County	Town of Fairview water conservation ordinance
Denton	Denton County	City of Denton Drought Contingency & Water Conservation
Little Elm	Denton County	Check current restrictions with the Town of Little Elm
Carrollton	Dallas, Denton and Collin Counties	City of Carrollton Watering Rules and Restrictions
Fort Worth	Tarrant County	City of Fort Worth year-round watering requirements
Euless	Tarrant County	City of Euless Water Conservation
Arlington	Tarrant County	City of Arlington water and sewer ordinance (PDF)
Dallas	Dallas County	Dallas Water Utilities conservation ordinance
Terrell	Kaufman County	City of Terrell Water Conservation Plan
Crandall	Kaufman County	City of Crandall Water Department
Tyler	Smith County	Tyler Water Utilities
Nevada	Collin County	Nevada Special Utility District
Josephine	Collin and Hunt Counties	City of Josephine Utility Department
Caddo Mills	Hunt County	City of Caddo Mills Water & Utility Billing

Through the year

A North Texas watering calendar

A starting point for an established lawn on clay soil. Your allowed days always win over this table — and so does the rain.

Guidance for established warm-season turf in the Dallas–Fort Worth area. New sod, new landscape and shaded or sloped areas all need different treatment.
Time of year	Typical frequency	What matters
December – February	Usually none	Cool-season dormancy. Water only during a long warm dry spell, and only when temperatures are above freezing. Systems should be winterized.
March	About every 7–10 days	Turf is waking up. Start light. Most March watering in North Texas is unnecessary because of spring rainfall.
April – May	Once, sometimes twice a week	Growth is fastest now and so is rainfall. Let the rain sensor do its job rather than running a fixed schedule.
June – August	Twice a week — the usual legal maximum	Peak demand. Aim for roughly one inch total per week including rainfall, split across your two allowed days, and split each day into cycles.
September	Twice a week, easing to once	Heat backs off through the month. Cutting to one day in late September is usually enough.
October	About once a week	Cooling down. This is when most people are still running summer times and paying for it.
November	Every 10–14 days, then stop	Taper off and book winterization before the first hard freeze.

Getting more out of the water you are allowed

Four things that beat adding minutes

1Cycle and soak

Blackland clay takes water in far more slowly than a sprinkler puts it out. A single long run mostly waters the street. Split the same total time into two or three short cycles with a gap between them, and the water actually goes into the ground.

2Measure what you are actually putting down

Put a few straight-sided cans — a tuna tin is the classic — around a zone and run it for fifteen minutes. Measure the depth, and you know how long that zone needs to deliver a given amount. Zones almost never match each other.

3Check the rain and freeze shut-off

Texas irrigation rules require new systems to have a rain or moisture shut-off device. Plenty of older systems have one that stopped working years ago, so the system waters cheerfully through a thunderstorm. It is a five-minute check.

4Get beds off the turf zones

Shrubs and turf want completely different amounts of water on completely different schedules. Converting beds to drip is usually the single largest reduction available on an older system, and the plants do better for it.

Suspect a leak?

Turn off everything in the house that uses water, read the meter, wait two hours with nothing running, and read it again. If it moved, you have a leak on your side of the meter — and an irrigation mainline is one of the most common places for it to be. Send us a repair request and we will find it.

FAQs

Watering questions we get asked

How much water does a North Texas lawn actually need?

In midsummer, roughly one inch a week including rainfall. In spring and autumn, considerably less than most controllers are set to deliver. From December through February, an established lawn here generally needs none at all.

Is it better to water in the morning or the evening?

Early morning. Wind and evaporation are lowest, pressure is usually best, and the grass blades dry as the sun comes up. Evening watering leaves foliage wet overnight, which invites fungal problems.

My lawn has dry stripes even though the zone runs. Why?

Almost always coverage rather than duration — mismatched nozzles, worn heads, wrong spacing or low pressure. Adding minutes floods the healthy part of the lawn and still will not fix the stripe.

When should I winterize?

Before the first hard freeze — typically late November into December in this region, but the weather does not read calendars. Our winterization guide walks through the steps.

Can I water on a day that is not my assigned day?

Hand watering and drip are treated differently from automatic sprinklers in most city ordinances, and new sod and new landscape often qualify for a temporary variance. Check your city’s page — the links are in the table above.

System not doing what the controller says?

We diagnose coverage, pressure, valves and controllers across North Texas.

Get an Estimate Call (972) 240-8082

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Get an estimate

Tell us what the system is doing and where you are. We’ll follow up to discuss next steps.

Prefer to talk? Call (972) 240-8082, Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

The DFW Watering Guide

How watering rules work in North Texas

Watering rules where you live

A North Texas watering calendar

Four things that beat adding minutes

1Cycle and soak

2Measure what you are actually putting down

3Check the rain and freeze shut-off

4Get beds off the turf zones

Watering questions we get asked

System not doing what the controller says?

Get an estimate