Irrigation ordinance changes clarify enforcement

Irrigation ordinance changes clarify enforcement

Published on November 17, 2025

The Fort Worth City Council adopted changes to the City's irrigation ordinance that clarify how the Water director, or his designee, may enforce the ordinance. The changes allow the City to lock or shut off water service to irrigation systems or irrigation meters for repeated violations and in situations that jeopardize public safety, health or welfare.

Why it matters: These changes enable the Utility to further smooth out water demand and reduce per-capita water use that is essential to maintaining system reliability and achieving the goals set forth in the City Council-adopted 2024 Conservation Plan.

Previous efforts to achieve irrigation ordinance compliance through customer education and outreach have not resulted in significant reductions in average or peak water system demands. Beginning in March, commercial customers with dedicated irrigation meters and residential customers became subject to fines for repeated violations. Though these fees did result in a reduction in the number of irrigation ordinance violations from the previous summer, the number of violations was still substantial.

The big picture: The Water Utility continues to prioritize water conservation through enforcement of the City's Irrigation Ordinance, which limits watering to twice per week and prohibits irrigation between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.

The bottom line: The enforcement is progressive for those who continue to have repeated violations.

• First violation: Written notice of violation accompanied by educational information on proper irrigation scheduling.
• Second violation: Administrative fee of $25.
• Third violation: Administrative fee of $50.
• Fourth violation: Administrative fee of $75 and written notification by U.S. mail to the property owner, property manager or business representative for commercial properties.
• Subsequent violations: Notice with an opportunity to cure prior to the shutoff. Further inaction or failure to correct would be followed by an irrigation shutoff, which would be reactivated upon compliance with the irrigation ordinance and the payment of lockout and restoration fees, in accordance with the City's adopted Water Department fee schedule.
• For residential customers, any enforcement beyond the warning postcard is based on visual inspection by staff to confirm that usage in violation of the ordinance is for irrigation. Shutoffs would be obtained by locking the backflow device on the irrigation system and not the water meter.
• Most commercial customers use a dedicated irrigation meter, and irrigation violations can be based on remote-read meter usage data. Shutoffs would be obtained by locking the irrigation meter.

Get articles like this in your inbox. Subscribe to City News.

• Service Update