Arizona Water Restrictions 2026

Water restrictions across Arizona right now

Arizona entered 2026 in the grip of its most consequential water crisis in decades. The federal government's declaration of a Tier 2 Shortage on the Colorado River has triggered emergency-level responses in every major metropolitan area across the state, placing millions of residents under the most stringent water use rules many have ever encountered. Every city tracked in Arizona's primary urban corridor — from Phoenix and Mesa to Tucson — is operating under emergency status, a designation that carries real teeth in the form of mandatory behavioral changes, accelerated enforcement, and immediate threat of fines for non-compliance.

Phoenix activated its Stage 2 Drought Response protocol in early 2026, a designation that restricts outdoor irrigation to twice per week for residential properties, eliminates decorative fountain operation except for recirculating systems, and prohibits the washing of hard surfaces — driveways, sidewalks, patios — with potable water under virtually all circumstances. Stage 2 in Phoenix also suspends new turf installation in commercial and municipal settings and compels large water users to submit monthly consumption reports to the Phoenix Water Services Department.

Tucson issued a Critical Water Alert, which represents the highest tier of its own emergency response framework. Under the Critical Alert, Tucson Water has suspended issuance of variance approvals for landscape irrigation, prohibited operation of non-recirculating decorative water features, and reduced pressure during peak demand hours in select distribution zones. Residents in the Rincon Valley and Foothills areas received direct notices in January 2026 advising them that voluntary compliance targets were not optional — enforcement would follow noncompliance warnings within ten days rather than the standard thirty.

Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Scottsdale, and Tempe are all operating under Stage 2 Drought Response protocols synchronized with the Phoenix metropolitan framework. Scottsdale, which draws a significant portion of its supply through the Central Arizona Project canal, faces a particularly acute situation: the Bureau of Reclamation's post-2026 operating guidelines indicate a potential 27 percent reduction in CAP allocations for Arizona. For a city that depends on CAP water for nearly half of its municipal supply, that figure is not an abstraction — it is a planning emergency.

The Bureau of Reclamation's Lake Mead elevation, which drives the Shortage tier system under the 2019 Drought Contingency Plan, hovered in the range that triggers Tier 2 cuts throughout late 2025 and into early 2026. Arizona's total CAP entitlement under Tier 2 conditions is reduced by approximately 592,000 acre-feet from its normal full allocation. Agricultural users absorb the first and deepest cuts, but municipal utilities dependent on CAP deliveries must now draw harder on groundwater reserves and stored water credits — resources that are themselves under strain after two decades of accelerating demand.

State officials from the Arizona Department of Water Resources have described 2026 as a structural inflection point, not merely a seasonal shortage. The emergency framework now in place is intended to hold water use at sustainable levels while longer-term supply augmentation projects — including water recycling and eventual Colorado River desalination partnerships — work toward completion.

Fines and enforcement in Arizona

Arizona municipalities have moved decisively toward active enforcement during the 2026 emergency, a shift from the predominantly complaint-driven models that characterized earlier drought response stages. The financial penalties for water restriction violations now range from meaningful to severe, and cities have invested in infrastructure to detect violations proactively rather than waiting for neighbor reports.

Phoenix structures its Stage 2 fines on a progressive schedule. A first violation generates a written warning with a mandatory compliance period of 48 hours. A second violation within 12 months carries a fine of $150. A third violation results in a $250 fine and triggers a formal compliance review by Phoenix Water Services, which may include installation of a flow restrictor on the service line. Subsequent violations can reach $500 per occurrence, and Phoenix reserves the authority to install restrictors that cap household flow to essential indoor use levels only, effectively disabling outdoor irrigation systems entirely.

Scottsdale employs one of the most technologically advanced enforcement systems in the state. Scottsdale Water began rolling out advanced metering infrastructure — AMI smart meters — across its service area in 2019, and by 2026 the system covers the vast majority of residential and commercial accounts. Smart meters transmit hourly consumption data to the utility's analytics platform, which flags irrigation events occurring outside permitted windows automatically. Customers whose meters flag a suspected violation receive an automated alert via email or the city's app before a field inspector is dispatched. Scottsdale Water inspectors verified more than 800 irrigation violations in the first quarter of 2026 alone, with fines ranging from $75 for a first offense to $400 for a third offense within a rolling 12-month period.

Tucson Water operates a Waterway online complaint portal where residents can submit reports of suspected violations with the option to upload photographic evidence. Tucson's fine schedule under the Critical Water Alert begins at $100 for a first confirmed violation, escalates to $250 for a second, and reaches $500 for a third, with the possibility of service disconnection proceedings initiated by a fourth violation within a calendar year.

Mesa allows residents to appeal fines within 20 business days of issuance by submitting a written request to the Mesa Water Resources Hearing Officer. Grounds for appeal include meter malfunction, billing address discrepancies, or documented equipment failures such as broken irrigation lines that caused unauthorized water release. Successful appeals result in fine dismissal; unsuccessful appeals can be further contested through the Mesa City Court system. Chandler and Gilbert follow similar administrative appeal structures tied to their respective utility departments.

HOA protections in Arizona

Arizona has navigated the intersection of HOA authority and water conservation law with a specific statutory provision that becomes particularly relevant during emergency drought conditions. The key statute is Arizona Revised Statutes Section 33-1818, titled "Planned communities; xeriscape; drought tolerant landscaping; water use restrictions; definitions." This provision prohibits homeowners associations from enforcing rules, deed restrictions, or community guidelines that effectively prevent a property owner from replacing traditional turf or water-intensive landscaping with xeriscape or drought-tolerant alternatives.

Under ARS 33-1818, an HOA may not fine a member for installing low-water-use plants, decomposed granite groundcover, artificial turf (which is treated separately under other water conservation provisions), or drip irrigation systems in place of traditional lawn areas — provided the replacement landscaping complies with any reasonable aesthetic standards the HOA may establish. The statute does allow HOAs to require that xeriscape installations be maintained in a neat appearance, that bare soil not be left unprotected without groundcover, and that plant selections be drawn from a palette that is consistent with the community's general character. What HOAs explicitly cannot do is use aesthetic preference as a pretext for blocking water conservation landscaping changes entirely.

The statute was significantly reinforced by legislative amendments in 2022 and again by an executive memorandum from the Arizona Governor's office issued in conjunction with the 2026 emergency declaration. That memorandum directed the Arizona Department of Housing and the Arizona Attorney General's Office to monitor HOA enforcement actions during the drought emergency and to prioritize investigation of any HOA that issued fines or cease-and-desist letters to homeowners for drought-compliant landscaping modifications.

A companion provision, ARS Section 33-1816, addresses swimming pools and water features in planned communities, limiting HOA authority to mandate that pools remain filled to aesthetic standards when a municipal water restriction prohibits or discourages pool topping-off with potable water. Under Stage 2 conditions in Phoenix and the metro area, pools may continue normal operation but top-off additions are limited and documented under water budget tracking.

Tucson residents are additionally protected by the Tucson City Code, which aligns with state statute and specifically prohibits any private covenant or HOA rule from interfering with compliance with a declared water emergency. Legal advocates have recommended that Tucson homeowners who receive HOA notices challenging their drought-compliant landscaping cite both ARS 33-1818 and Tucson City Code Chapter 27 in their written responses.

Where Arizona gets its water

Arizona's water supply portfolio is one of the most diversified and most stressed in the American West. The state draws from three principal sources: the Colorado River via the Central Arizona Project canal system, in-state rivers and reservoir storage systems, and groundwater extracted from a series of major aquifer systems beneath the desert floor.

The Colorado River remains the backbone of Arizona's imported water supply. The Central Arizona Project, a 336-mile aqueduct that carries Colorado River water from Lake Havasu — where the river forms the Arizona-California border — southeast to Phoenix and then south to Tucson, delivers water to approximately 80 percent of Arizona's population in some form. Lake Mead, the massive reservoir on the Nevada-Arizona border impounded by Hoover Dam, serves as the primary storage and measurement point for Colorado River allocations. When Lake Mead falls below elevation 1,090 feet above sea level, Tier 1 Shortage conditions are declared; below 1,075 feet triggers Tier 2. In 2026, the lake's elevation has remained in Tier 2 territory despite modest inflows from the upper basin.

In-state river systems supplement Colorado River imports significantly in the Salt River Valley. The Salt River Project, one of the oldest reclamation entities in the American West, operates a network of six reservoirs on the Salt and Verde rivers northeast of Phoenix: Roosevelt Lake, Apache Lake, Canyon Lake, Saguaro Lake on the Salt River system, and Horseshoe Reservoir and Bartlett Reservoir on the Verde River. These reservoirs collectively store approximately 2.9 million acre-feet at full capacity. Roosevelt Lake, the largest at roughly 1.58 million acre-feet of capacity, serves as the primary regulatory storage for the system. Combined storage in the Salt River Project system was below 50 percent of capacity through much of 2025, limiting the buffer these in-state reserves can provide during the 2026 shortage.

Groundwater is the third pillar. The Phoenix Active Management Area, the Tucson Active Management Area, the Prescott AMA, the Pinal AMA, and the Santa Cruz AMA collectively govern pumping and recharge activities across the state's most populated zones. The Salt River Valley sits atop the Valley Aquifer, a productive but increasingly stressed groundwater basin. Tucson relies heavily on the Tucson Basin aquifer, which runs beneath the Santa Cruz River corridor. Decades of aggressive pumping prior to the Groundwater Management Act depleted water levels significantly; managed recharge programs have partially stabilized some areas, but the 2026 emergency conditions are accelerating drawdown rates as utilities pull more groundwater to offset CAP delivery shortfalls.

Arizona also benefits from snowmelt in the White Mountains and the Mogollon Rim country northeast of the Valley, which feeds the Salt and Verde river systems seasonally. The 2024-2025 winter saw below-average precipitation across the Mogollon Rim, contributing to lower-than-expected reservoir inflows heading into 2026 and compounding pressure on all three of Arizona's supply pillars simultaneously.

How Arizona's drought framework works

Arizona manages drought response through a layered institutional structure anchored by the Arizona Department of Water Resources, known as ADWR. ADWR is the primary state agency responsible for water supply planning, drought monitoring, and the administration of water rights under the Arizona Groundwater Management Act of 1980. The department publishes an annual Arizona Drought Monitoring Technical Committee report that draws on data from the U.S. Drought Monitor, streamflow gauges on the Salt, Verde, and Colorado rivers, groundwater level measurements in the state's five Active Management Areas, and reservoir storage at Lake Mead, Lake Powell, Theodore Roosevelt Lake, and Bartlett Reservoir.

The state's drought response ladder is codified in ADWR's Drought Preparedness Plan, which was most recently updated in 2021. The plan organizes drought severity into four escalating tiers: Abnormally Dry (D0), Moderate Drought (D1), Severe Drought (D2), and Extreme to Exceptional Drought (D3 to D4). Each tier carries recommended — and in some cases mandatory — response actions for utilities, municipalities, and agricultural water users. ADWR convenes the Governor's Drought Interagency Coordinating Group when drought conditions reach D2 or higher across a significant portion of the state, which activates enhanced interagency data sharing and coordinates messaging to the public.

For municipal water providers, the operational trigger system works in conjunction with the Colorado River's federal Shortage tier framework. Under the 2019 Drought Contingency Plan negotiated among the seven Colorado River Basin states, Lake Mead elevation thresholds determine which Shortage tier is declared by the Bureau of Reclamation. Arizona, as the state with the most junior Colorado River priority rights after Nevada, bears the brunt of shortage reductions. Tier 1 cuts reduce Arizona's CAP allocation by roughly 512,000 acre-feet; Tier 2 cuts reach approximately 592,000 acre-feet; Tier 3 cuts could approach 720,000 acre-feet.

Individual cities then operate their own stage-based drought response programs, which must conform to ADWR guidelines but allow local variation in penalty schedules, watering hour windows, and enforcement mechanisms. Phoenix's drought response stages run from Stage 1 (voluntary conservation goals) through Stage 4 (severe emergency rationing). Stage 2, where Phoenix currently sits, triggers a specific set of prohibited uses outlined in Phoenix City Code Chapter 28. Gilbert and Chandler use nearly identical stage structures, while Scottsdale's Water Management Program stages are cross-referenced with its water portfolio stress indicators, meaning Scottsdale can escalate independently of state declarations if its CAP deliveries fall below defined thresholds.

ADWR also administers the Assured Water Supply program, which requires developers seeking approval for new subdivisions in Active Management Areas to demonstrate a 100-year assured water supply. Under 2026 emergency conditions, ADWR has paused several pending assured supply determinations pending reassessment of long-term CAP availability, creating downstream effects on residential development timelines across Maricopa and Pinal counties.

Conservation programs in Arizona

Arizona's water utilities and state agencies have assembled a substantial portfolio of conservation programs designed to reduce demand structurally — not just during emergencies but permanently. These programs offer financial incentives, technical assistance, and educational resources that make conservation economically attractive in addition to legally required.

The most widely used residential program is the Arizona Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network's partnership with individual utilities for landscape transformation rebates. In Phoenix, the Water Services Department offers a turf removal rebate of $2.00 per square foot for grass replaced with drought-tolerant landscaping, with a maximum rebate of $2,000 per household per calendar year. Since the Stage 2 declaration in early 2026, Phoenix accelerated its rebate processing timeline from eight weeks to approximately three weeks to meet surging application volumes.

Tucson Water operates the Water Smart Home and Business program, which provides free water audits conducted by certified water efficiency specialists. Residential audits include inspection of irrigation systems, indoor fixture efficiency, and soil infiltration rates. Following the audit, participants receive a customized conservation action plan and are eligible for rebates on approved purchases: $50 for a high-efficiency showerhead package, $100 for a WaterSense-certified toilet replacement, $150 for a soil moisture sensor installed on an existing irrigation controller, and up to $500 for a weather-based "smart" irrigation controller replacement.

Scottsdale's WaterWise program offers a tiered rebate schedule for commercial and multi-family residential properties that achieve documented reductions in water consumption below their baseline usage. Commercial accounts that reduce consumption by 15 percent or more receive a $1,500 credit on their water bill; reductions of 25 percent or more earn a $3,000 credit. Scottsdale also offers free irrigation system check-ups to residential customers, conducted by certified landscape irrigation auditors, with no charge for the first inspection per address under Stage 2 conditions.

At the state level, ADWR administers the Water Conservation Grant Program, which distributes funding to municipalities, water districts, and tribal water utilities for infrastructure-level conservation improvements. In fiscal year 2026, ADWR allocated $4.2 million through this program statewide, with grants awarded for projects including advanced meter infrastructure installations in smaller communities, water reuse system expansions, and large-scale xeriscape demonstration projects in public spaces.

The Salt River Project offers its own Conservation Rebate Program targeting both residential and agricultural customers. Residential customers who convert a traditional spray-head irrigation zone to drip irrigation receive $0.50 per square foot of converted area up to $300. Agricultural customers who install soil moisture monitoring technology receive cost-share assistance covering up to 40 percent of equipment costs under a 2026 emergency agricultural efficiency initiative SRP launched in February.

Mesa's Water Efficiency Program additionally provides free water conservation kits by mail to all residential utility customers, containing aerators, toilet leak detection tablets, a hose nozzle shutoff, and printed irrigation scheduling guides. Mesa distributed more than 22,000 such kits in the first quarter of 2026.

Lawn care in Arizona's climate

Managing outdoor landscaping in Arizona under Stage 2 Drought Response conditions requires understanding which plants and ground covers are genuinely suited to a low-desert climate and which are water-intensive liabilities that make conservation nearly impossible to achieve at scale.

Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) has historically been the most commonly planted lawn grass across the Phoenix metro area due to its heat tolerance and relatively low water needs compared to cool-season alternatives during summer months. Under current restrictions, Bermudagrass turf can be maintained on the two-days-per-week schedule at reduced application volumes, but water managers note that Bermudagrass still consumes far more water per square foot than any drought-adapted alternative. Municipalities are actively discouraging new Bermudagrass installations and offering rebates to homeowners who remove it.

Buffalograss (Bouteloua dactyloides) is receiving growing attention from conservation-focused landscapers in Arizona as a native Great Plains species that is proving adaptable in parts of the state receiving slightly higher rainfall, particularly in higher-elevation communities like Prescott and Flagstaff. Buffalograss can survive on as little as 12 inches of annual rainfall once established and requires no summer irrigation in many years. However, it goes dormant and turns brown during winter, which some homeowners find aesthetically unacceptable.

For the vast majority of Arizona's desert urban areas, the most responsible approach endorsed by ADWR, Tucson Water, and Phoenix Water Services is the elimination of traditional lawn grass entirely and its replacement with desert-adapted ground covers. Decomposed granite, crushed basalt, or Arizona flagstone mulch surfaces combined with native and desert-adapted plants represent the gold standard for water-wise landscaping in the Sonoran Desert.

Recommended plants include desert marigold (Baileya multiradiata), brittlebush (Encelia farinosa), red yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora), Apache plume (Fallugia paradoxa), and a range of native penstemon species. Shade trees appropriate for Arizona yards include the velvet mesquite (Prosopis velutina), the blue palo verde (Parkinsonia florida), and the desert willow (Chilopsis linearis). All of these trees, once established after two to three years of supplemental irrigation, can survive on rainfall alone in the Phoenix and Tucson regions and provide meaningful cooling shade that reduces indoor cooling demand as a secondary benefit.

Drip irrigation is universally preferred over overhead spray systems by Arizona water authorities. A properly designed drip system reduces outdoor water use by 30 to 50 percent compared to rotary or pop-up sprinkler systems for equivalent plant coverage areas.

Drought history and 2026 outlook in Arizona

Arizona's 2026 emergency is not an isolated event but the culmination of a drought trajectory that stretches back more than two decades. Understanding that trajectory is essential to appreciating why current restrictions carry the weight they do.

The drought that began in 2000 is widely considered the opening chapter of what climate scientists now call the western megadrought. By 2002, Lake Mead had dropped to levels not seen in decades, and the Salt River Project's reservoir system fell to critically low storage percentages. Roosevelt Lake, which had sat near capacity through the wet years of the late 1990s, declined sharply. Arizona farmers in the Pinal Active Management Area faced their first significant CAP delivery interruptions, and Phoenix issued Stage 1 water advisories for the first time in the modern era.

The years 2007 and 2008 brought a second severe drought pulse. Lake Powell, the upper Colorado River reservoir impounded by Glen Canyon Dam on the Arizona-Utah border, dropped to below 50 percent of capacity by early 2008 — a level that alarmed water managers who had assumed Powell's enormous storage buffer would insulate the system from short-term variability. The Salt River Project's combined reservoir storage fell below 30 percent of capacity in early 2009, prompting temporary emergency water transfers within the system.

The 2012 drought was brief but intense. Arizona's monsoon season that year was exceptionally weak, and the lack of summer rainfall pushed water demand to record highs in the Phoenix metro area. The Tucson Basin aquifer recorded some of its lowest monitored water table elevations in the 2013-2014 period following consecutive below-average precipitation winters.

Between 2020 and 2022, the megadrought intensified dramatically. Lake Mead reached its lowest recorded level since the reservoir was filled in the 1930s, dropping below 1,040 feet of elevation in July 2022 — a level that exposed the so-called "bathtub ring" of mineral deposits on the canyon walls and triggered the first-ever federally declared Tier 1 Shortage on the Colorado River in August 2021. A record wet winter in 2023 provided a temporary reprieve, pushing Lake Mead back above the Tier 1 threshold. However, the recovery was incomplete, and below-average inflows in 2024 and 2025 returned the reservoir to Tier 2 territory, setting the stage for Arizona's 2026 emergency conditions.

The indicators that water managers are watching most closely in 2026 represent a convergence of federal policy timelines, physical hydrology, and infrastructure capacity. The most consequential near-term variable is the Bureau of Reclamation's August 2026 24-Month Study, which will determine Lake Mead's projected elevation through the end of 2027 and establish whether Arizona faces continued Tier 2 conditions or escalation to Tier 3. Tier 3 would reduce CAP allocations by an additional 128,000 acre-feet beyond current Tier 2 cuts, pushing the system into genuinely uncharted territory for municipal water managers.

The post-2026 Colorado River operating guidelines are scheduled to replace the existing 2007 Interim Guidelines, and negotiations among the seven basin states over those new rules remained unresolved heading into mid-2026. Arizona's delegation to those negotiations, coordinated through ADWR and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, has argued for provisions that protect CAP municipal users from the deepest proportional cuts. The outcome of those negotiations will shape Arizona's water supply framework for decades.

On the atmospheric side, NOAA's Climate Prediction Center seasonal outlooks for spring and summer 2026 project below-normal precipitation probabilities across Arizona, with above-normal temperature anomalies expected to increase evaporative demand across both urban landscapes and the Salt and Verde river watersheds. The 2026 monsoon season, which typically runs from June 15 through September 30, is being watched particularly carefully: a robust monsoon could provide meaningful reservoir inflows to the Salt River Project system, while a failed monsoon would extend Stage 2 conditions through the end of the year and potentially trigger Stage 3 discussions by early 2027.

ADWR has also indicated it will publish an updated water availability assessment for the Pinal Active Management Area by September 2026, which will clarify how much groundwater buffer remains available to offset continued CAP shortfalls in the agriculture-heavy corridor between Phoenix and Tucson.

Frequently asked questions about Arizona water restrictions

What does the Tier 2 Colorado River Shortage mean for my water bill?

A Tier 2 Shortage declaration by the Bureau of Reclamation does not automatically raise your water bill, but it does reduce the volume of Central Arizona Project water your utility can purchase at its normal contracted rate. Utilities absorbing CAP delivery cuts must turn to more expensive alternatives — additional groundwater pumping, water purchases from neighboring utilities, or drawdown of stored water credits — which tend to carry higher production costs. Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tucson, and other metro utilities may pass some of those higher costs through to ratepayers in the form of rate adjustments later in 2026. Scottsdale has already announced a rate review process to begin in the third quarter of 2026. Additionally, if your household exceeds its stage-based water budget allocation, you will pay a significantly higher rate per thousand gallons for usage in the excess tiers, which effectively constitutes an indirect rate increase tied to drought-related consumption patterns.

Can I still fill or top off my swimming pool during Stage 2 restrictions?

Pool filling and topping off are not entirely prohibited under Stage 2 in most Arizona cities, but they are subject to significant restrictions. In Phoenix, filling a new pool or replacing drained pool water requires a waiver from Phoenix Water Services during Stage 2. Routine top-off additions to existing pools to replace evaporation losses are permitted but count toward your household's water budget and must be managed accordingly. Tucson's Critical Water Alert prohibits new pool filling entirely and restricts top-off additions to a documented minimum threshold. Scottsdale requires that pools using Scottsdale Water be equipped with automatic water levelers to prevent overfilling, and pools must not be deliberately drained and refilled as a method of water quality management during the restriction period. Backwash water from pool filters may not be directed to the street gutter or storm drain in any Arizona municipality under current emergency rules.

Is artificial turf allowed under current water restrictions in Arizona?

Artificial turf installations are permitted and in fact encouraged by several Arizona cities as an alternative to water-intensive natural grass. Under ARS 33-1818, an HOA cannot prohibit a homeowner from replacing natural turf with artificial turf on the grounds of aesthetics alone, provided the installation meets reasonable appearance standards. Phoenix Water Services offers a turf removal rebate of $2.00 per square foot for areas converted from living grass to any non-irrigated surface, including artificial turf. However, some water managers note that artificial turf is not the most ecologically beneficial alternative, as it generates significant heat and provides no groundwater recharge benefit; xeriscape with native plants is considered the superior conservation outcome. That said, artificial turf is fully legal, eligible for rebates in most cities, and protected from HOA prohibition by state statute.

What happens if I water on a day that's not permitted under my city's schedule?

Watering outside your designated schedule days constitutes a water restriction violation and can result in the progressive fine schedule your city has adopted for Stage 2 conditions. In Phoenix, the first confirmed violation results in a written warning; the second generates a $150 fine; the third generates a $250 fine and a possible flow restrictor installation. In Tucson, first violations under the Critical Water Alert carry a $100 fine. Importantly, "I didn't know my irrigation controller was running" is not a legally recognized defense in any Arizona city's enforcement code. Homeowners are responsible for ensuring their automated irrigation systems reflect current permitted schedules. If a controller malfunctions and causes an unauthorized watering event, you may contest the resulting fine through an administrative appeal, but you must provide documentation of the malfunction and evidence that the system has been repaired.

Do water restrictions apply to vegetable gardens and fruit trees?

Vegetable gardens and edible fruit trees are treated somewhat differently from ornamental landscaping in Arizona's drought response framework, reflecting a public interest in food production. Phoenix's Stage 2 protocol allows vegetable gardens and fruit trees to receive supplemental hand-watering on days other than designated irrigation days, provided a hand-held hose with a shut-off nozzle is used and no overhead spray sprinklers are employed. Drip irrigation to vegetable gardens is permitted on standard watering days. Tucson's Critical Water Alert similarly exempts hand-watering of edible plants from the once-every-five-days schedule, recognizing that food-producing gardens represent a different water use priority than decorative lawns. Residents are encouraged to water edible plants in the early morning hours to maximize absorption and reduce evaporation losses during Tucson's intense afternoon heat.

How do I find out if I'm being monitored for water use violations?

In cities with advanced metering infrastructure — primarily Scottsdale, which has the most comprehensive AMI deployment in the state — your water meter transmits hourly usage data to the utility automatically. You can access your own usage data through the Scottsdale Water online customer portal, which shows consumption by hour and can help you identify whether your irrigation controller is running during prohibited windows. Phoenix customers can access similar, though less granular, data through the Phoenix Water Services customer portal. In Tucson, smart meter rollout is ongoing; customers in areas with traditional meters should self-monitor by physically checking their meter before and after irrigation runs to confirm system behavior. Gilbert has begun notifying residents in targeted neighborhoods when its satellite-based water use monitoring detects landscape moisture signatures inconsistent with permitted watering schedules, sending those residents informational letters before initiating formal enforcement proceedings.

Are businesses and commercial properties under the same restrictions as residences?

Commercial, industrial, and institutional water users in Arizona face the same prohibited-use categories as residential customers under Stage 2 Drought Response — no washing paved surfaces with potable water, no decorative non-recirculating water features, no irrigation outside permitted windows — but commercial entities have additional reporting obligations that residential customers do not. In Phoenix, commercial accounts using more than 100,000 gallons per month must submit monthly water use reports to Phoenix Water Services and identify any discretionary uses that could be curtailed. Golf courses in the Phoenix metro area, including the many private and resort courses in Scottsdale, are subject to individualized water budgets negotiated with Scottsdale Water, and many have already transitioned portions of their fairway acreage to dormant Bermudagrass or native desert vegetation to reduce consumption. Scottsdale Water began auditing the top 50 commercial water users in its service area in January 2026 as part of its Stage 2 compliance initiative.

What long-term water supply projects might reduce the need for restrictions in future years?

Arizona has several supply augmentation projects in varying stages of development. The most significant is the Southern Water Authority's evaluation of a brackish water desalination facility drawing from the Sea of Cortez in Mexico, a concept that has been studied by ADWR for years but faces substantial cost, energy, and binational permitting challenges. More near-term, the Tucson Water system's expansion of its reclaimed water distribution network — already one of the largest municipal reclaimed systems in the Southwest — is expected to add approximately 5,000 acre-feet of additional reclaimed capacity by 2028. Phoenix's 91st Avenue Wastewater Treatment Plant produces more than 100,000 acre-feet of reclaimed water annually, much of which is used for irrigation at parks, golf courses, and along highway medians. Phoenix is also pursuing expansion of its water reuse program to eventually include indirect potable reuse — treated wastewater returned to the water supply cycle — under an ADWR-approved pilot program that could deliver results by 2029 if regulatory approvals proceed on schedule.