Mississippi Water Restrictions 2026

Water restrictions across Mississippi right now

As of 2026, Mississippi is operating under a voluntary conservation posture rather than any mandatory restriction framework. Two municipalities — Jackson and Biloxi — have formally issued Stage 1 Conservation Advisories, asking residents and businesses to voluntarily reduce outdoor water use, fix leaky fixtures, and be thoughtful about irrigation timing. No emergency declarations are in effect anywhere in the state, and no city has escalated to mandatory curtailments.

The current status places Mississippi in a drought monitoring phase, meaning that state hydrologists and water managers at the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) are watching key indicators but have not concluded that conditions warrant compulsory action. The broader context is a southern drought corridor that stretches across parts of the Gulf Coast region, prompting caution even if Mississippi itself has not reached critical thresholds.

Jackson's Stage 1 Conservation Advisory — formally titled the Stage 1 Conservation Advisory — 2026 Drought Monitoring — is notable given the city's ongoing infrastructure challenges. Jackson's water system has faced scrutiny since the 2022 crisis when treatment plant failures left hundreds of thousands of residents without safe water pressure. The 2026 advisory is partly a legacy of those infrastructure investments: city officials want to buffer the treated water supply and maintain system pressure by encouraging reduced demand before stress levels become critical.

Biloxi's advisory, designated a Stage 1 Voluntary Conservation Advisory, reflects the coastal city's concern about the shallow freshwater lens beneath the Mississippi Gulf Coast, which is susceptible to saltwater intrusion when freshwater withdrawal rates climb. Municipal wells drawing from the Coastal Lowlands aquifer system face elevated intrusion risk during dry periods, and Biloxi water managers are urging customers to pull back on lawn irrigation and car washing voluntarily.

For the vast majority of Mississippi residents, daily life continues without restriction. Lawn watering, pool filling, and car washing face no legal prohibition anywhere in the state. However, water utility managers across the Pearl River basin, the Big Black River corridor, and the Gulf Coast service areas are keeping close watch on reservoir elevations and aquifer levels. The Pearl River's flow at the Jackson gauge has been running below seasonal averages, a data point that MDEQ hydrologists flag as worth monitoring through the summer heat season.

The voluntary nature of the current restrictions means enforcement is essentially nonexistent — participation depends entirely on civic awareness and personal responsibility. Local water authorities are relying on public communications, social media campaigns, and utility bill inserts to spread the conservation message. Both cities have activated their public information channels to encourage customers to embrace what water managers call "drought-ready" habits before any formal escalation becomes necessary.

Fines and enforcement in Mississippi

Because no Mississippi municipality has escalated to mandatory water restrictions in 2026, formal fines and enforcement mechanisms are currently dormant statewide. The Stage 1 advisories in Jackson and Biloxi carry no legal penalty for non-compliance — participation is entirely voluntary, and no municipal code enforcement officers are authorized to issue citations solely for lawn watering under the current advisory language.

However, it is instructive to understand how enforcement works when Mississippi cities do impose mandatory restrictions, because the framework could be activated quickly if drought conditions escalate.

Cities that have adopted formal drought ordinances — Hattiesburg being among the most detailed — typically structure penalties in a progressive tier system. A first violation generally results in a written warning mailed to the service address with no monetary penalty. A second violation within a 12-month period typically triggers a fine of $50 to $100 on the monthly water bill. A third violation escalates to $150 to $250, and repeated violations can result in water service being restricted to a lower flow rate via a flow restrictor device installed at the meter. Restoration of full service typically requires payment of all outstanding fines plus a reconnection or device-removal fee.

Complaint-based enforcement is the primary detection mechanism across Mississippi's smaller cities, where meter reading staff and utility vehicles provide secondary observation. Residents can report suspected violations by calling their municipal water utility's customer service line or, in some cities, submitting reports through the city's general 311 non-emergency services line.

Smart meter deployment is progressing unevenly across Mississippi. Jackson has been expanding its Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) network as part of its post-2022 infrastructure recovery, with smart meters enabling the utility to detect unusually high consumption that may indicate illegal irrigation or major leaks. Biloxi and Gulfport have similarly expanded AMI coverage. However, many rural water associations in Mississippi still rely on monthly manual meter reads, which makes real-time enforcement of irrigation restrictions practically impossible in those service areas.

Appeals of water restriction fines in municipalities that have issued them typically go to the city's utility billing department in the first instance, with a formal appeals process available before a utility hearing officer or the city council's utility committee. Customers who can demonstrate that apparent violations were caused by irrigation system malfunctions — with supporting documentation such as repair invoices — have generally been successful in having second-offense penalties waived.

HOA protections in Mississippi

Mississippi does not have a comprehensive statute that broadly preempts homeowners' association rules on water conservation landscaping in the same sweeping manner as states like Nevada or California. However, there are relevant provisions in Mississippi law that affect the relationship between HOA landscaping mandates and municipal water restrictions.

Under Mississippi Code Annotated § 89-9-1 et seq., which governs the Mississippi Condominium Act, and the general framework applied to planned community associations under common law and deed restrictions, HOAs in Mississippi retain significant authority to enforce architectural and landscaping standards. No specific statutory section in Mississippi law explicitly prohibits an HOA from fining a homeowner for allowing a lawn to turn brown during a water restriction period.

However, when a city has declared a mandatory water restriction under its municipal ordinance authority, the general legal principle applied in Mississippi courts is that compliance with a valid government order constitutes a defense against private contractual enforcement. If a homeowner can demonstrate that their brown lawn resulted from compliance with a city-mandated watering ban, most HOAs in Mississippi would face difficulty sustaining a fine in a civil action, as courts would be reluctant to penalize legal compliance with a public health emergency order.

The critical nuance is that this protection only clearly applies during formally declared mandatory restrictions. Under the current voluntary Stage 1 advisories in Jackson and Biloxi, an HOA is on stronger legal footing to enforce its landscaping standards because the municipal advisory is not a compulsory government order. Homeowners in HOA-governed communities in Jackson or Biloxi who allow lawns to brown in response to the voluntary advisory may still face HOA enforcement action.

Mississippi homeowners who wish to modify landscaping toward drought-tolerant or native plant designs to reduce irrigation needs should review their HOA's architectural review guidelines carefully. Many HOA covenants in Mississippi were written decades ago and may not contemplate xeriscape or native plant installations. Seeking written approval from the HOA's architectural review committee before replacing turf with drought-tolerant alternatives is strongly advisable. Some HOAs in the Jackson metro area have updated their guidelines in recent years to permit — and even encourage — native plant landscaping, reflecting growing awareness of water conservation values.

Where Mississippi gets its water

Mississippi draws its public water supplies from an unusually diverse portfolio of sources, spanning major river systems, large reservoirs, shallow coastal aquifers, and one of the most productive deep aquifer systems in the United States.

The Pearl River is the state's most consequential surface water supply source. Rising in east-central Mississippi near Philadelphia, the Pearl flows southwestward through Jackson before turning south toward the Gulf of Mexico near Pearlington. The Pearl River Valley Water Supply District impounds the river at the Ross Barnett Reservoir, a 33,000-acre lake created in 1964 that serves as the primary drinking water supply for the Jackson metropolitan area, including the City of Jackson, Ridgeland, Flowood, and Rankin County utility districts. Ross Barnett's normal pool elevation is 294 feet above mean sea level, and managers watch closely when summer evaporation and reduced inflows push levels toward 290 feet.

The Pascagoula River system — comprising the Leaf River and the Chickasawhay River as its two main tributaries — is the largest unimpounded river basin in the contiguous southeastern United States, a fact that gives it ecological importance but limits its usefulness as a controlled municipal supply. Communities in Jones, Wayne, and George counties draw from the Pascagoula and its tributaries under permitted withdrawals, but there is no large storage reservoir on the main stem.

North Mississippi water systems rely heavily on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway corridor and on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers impoundments including Enid Lake, Grenada Lake, Sardis Lake, and Arkabutla Lake. These four reservoirs in the Yazoo Basin collectively store hundreds of thousands of acre-feet and serve both municipal water supply and agricultural irrigation purposes for the Delta and hill counties.

Groundwater is arguably as important as surface water in Mississippi. The Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer underlies the Delta region and is one of the most heavily pumped agricultural aquifers in the nation. Municipal systems in Greenville, Clarksdale, and Cleveland draw from this aquifer. The Coastal Lowlands aquifer system — including the Chicot, Evangeline, and Jasper aquifer units — supplies much of south Mississippi and the Gulf Coast. Biloxi, Gulfport, and Pascagoula rely substantially on these units. The risk of saltwater intrusion into these coastal aquifers makes excessive drawdown during dry periods a genuine management concern.

Deeper geologic units including the Sparta Sand aquifer and the Cockfield Formation serve parts of central and south-central Mississippi where surface water supplies are limited. These confined aquifers are recharged slowly, making them non-renewable on human timescales if overdrawn.

How Mississippi's drought framework works

Mississippi's drought response infrastructure is anchored by the Mississippi Drought Monitor Committee, a multiagency body that convenes under the broader oversight of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and MDEQ. The committee draws technical input from the Mississippi State University Extension Service, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and the U.S. Geological Survey's Mississippi Water Science Center. Together, these entities assess drought conditions and recommend response escalation.

The state's drought classification ladder mirrors the national U.S. Drought Monitor categories — D0 (Abnormally Dry), D1 (Moderate Drought), D2 (Severe Drought), D3 (Extreme Drought), and D4 (Exceptional Drought) — but Mississippi's municipal response framework translates those categories into action stages at the local utility level rather than through a single statewide mandate. This decentralized approach means cities and water utilities retain authority to declare their own conservation stages.

Most Mississippi utilities that have formalized drought response plans follow a four-stage ladder:

• Stage 1 — Voluntary Conservation: Triggered when the Drought Monitor designates the service area as D0 or D1. Customers are asked to voluntarily reduce outdoor water use by roughly 10 to 15 percent.
• Stage 2 — Mandatory Conservation: Activated at D2, typically restricting outdoor irrigation to designated days and banning non-essential uses like washing paved surfaces.
• Stage 3 — Severe Restriction: Implemented at D3, cutting outdoor irrigation to one or two days per week and banning most non-essential uses entirely.
• Stage 4 — Emergency: Reserved for D4 conditions or critical infrastructure failure, potentially including complete outdoor watering bans and supply rationing.

Trigger metrics that the committee monitors include the Palmer Drought Severity Index readings for Mississippi's eight climate divisions, streamflow percentiles on key gauged rivers including the Pearl River at Jackson, the Big Black River at Bovina, and the Pascagoula River at Merrill, groundwater level readings at USGS index wells monitoring the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer and the Coastal Lowlands aquifer, and reservoir storage percentages at Ross Barnett Reservoir and Enid Lake.

One distinctive feature of Mississippi's framework is the role of the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District, which manages Ross Barnett Reservoir and supplies Jackson-area utilities. The District has its own operational protocols tied to reservoir pool elevation targets. If the reservoir drops below specific elevation thresholds — measured in feet above mean sea level — the District can restrict withdrawals to downstream municipal users, effectively forcing Stage 2 or Stage 3 responses even before formal MDEQ guidance arrives.

MDEQ coordinates with MEMA to issue formal drought declarations that unlock state emergency assistance funds and facilitate interagency water transfers when conditions deteriorate significantly. As of 2026, no such declaration has been issued.

Conservation programs in Mississippi

Mississippi offers a range of water conservation programs through state agencies, federal partnerships, and local utility initiatives, though the state's conservation program infrastructure is less extensive than that of western arid states.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service operates the Mississippi Irrigation Scheduling Tool (MIST), an online platform that allows producers and large landscape managers to calculate evapotranspiration-based irrigation schedules using weather station data from the Mississippi Environmental Monitoring Network. MIST is free to use and has demonstrably reduced irrigation water use among agricultural participants by an estimated 20 to 30 percent in program evaluations. The Extension Service also offers on-site irrigation audits for agricultural users at no cost through its county agent network.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service Mississippi State Office administers the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) for agricultural producers, which can fund irrigation system efficiency improvements including drip conversion, soil moisture monitoring equipment, and tailwater recovery systems. EQIP payments in Mississippi for irrigation efficiency practices have ranged from a few hundred dollars for sensor installations to more than $15,000 per contract for comprehensive drip conversion projects on row crop operations.

At the municipal level, the Jackson Water Department has piloted a residential leak repair assistance program in lower-income neighborhoods as part of its EPA-funded infrastructure recovery grants. The program provides free toilet flapper replacements, showerhead exchanges, and faucet aerators to qualifying households — fixtures that together can reduce indoor water use by 10 to 20 percent. Funding comes through EPA Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) grant allocations made following the 2022 crisis.

Biloxi's water utility offers a free residential water audit program in which a utility technician visits the home, inspects the irrigation system, reads the meter to detect slow leaks, and provides a written report with conservation recommendations. The program is available to all residential customers and has no income threshold. Commercial customers in Biloxi can access a similar audit with a focus on irrigation controller upgrades.

The Mississippi Development Authority has partnered with several Gulf Coast utilities to promote rainwater harvesting through its Clean Water State Revolving Fund community assistance programs. While Mississippi does not offer a statewide rebate for rain barrel purchases, some utilities in Hattiesburg and on the Gulf Coast have partnered with local soil and water conservation districts to distribute subsidized rain barrels at prices ranging from $20 to $35 — well below retail cost — during periodic community conservation events.

The USDA WaterSMART program, administered through Bureau of Reclamation grants, has funded municipal water conservation planning studies in Mississippi, including a detailed water loss audit and infrastructure repair prioritization study for a mid-sized water association in Rankin County completed in 2024 with a federal contribution of approximately $175,000.

Lawn care in Mississippi's climate

Mississippi falls entirely within USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 7a through 8b and the humid subtropical climate classification, meaning that lawn care decisions should be driven by heat tolerance, humidity adaptation, and the state's summer-dominant water demand profile. There is no snowpack consideration in Mississippi lawn management — winters are mild and largely frost-free across the southern half of the state.

Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) is the dominant warm-season turf across Mississippi's residential and commercial landscapes. It is well-suited to the state's long, hot summers and establishes a deep root system that allows it to survive moderate drought periods with reduced irrigation — often requiring as little as 1 to 1.25 inches of water per week during active growth when soil moisture is managed correctly. Bermudagrass goes dormant and turns tan during winter but recovers vigorously in spring without supplemental water.

Zoysiagrass (Zoysia japonica and Zoysia matrella) is increasingly popular across central and south Mississippi for its superior drought tolerance relative to St. Augustinegrass and its ability to remain green longer into the autumn shoulder season. Properly established Zoysia requires roughly 20 to 30 percent less irrigation than Bermudagrass once mature, making it a favorable choice under conservation advisories.

Centipedegrass (Eremochloa ophiuroides) thrives in the acidic, low-fertility soils common across south Mississippi's coastal plain and piney woods regions. It is often called the "lazy man's grass" because it requires minimal fertilization and infrequent mowing. Centipedegrass is moderately drought-tolerant but does poorly with heavy foot traffic. It is best suited for ornamental lawn settings rather than high-use areas.

St. Augustinegrass (Stenotaphrum secundatum) is commonly found in the coastal counties from Hancock to Jackson County along the Gulf of Mexico. It tolerates shade and salt air well but is the least drought-tolerant of Mississippi's common warm-season grasses, requiring consistent moisture. Under voluntary conservation advisories, homeowners with St. Augustine lawns should prioritize early morning deep watering cycles rather than frequent shallow applications.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service recommends that homeowners calibrate their irrigation to deliver no more than one inch of water per week during summer, accounting for rainfall. Placing empty tuna cans in the irrigation zone to measure sprinkler output is a simple and widely recommended technique. Raising mower height to 3.5 to 4 inches on Bermudagrass and Zoysia during drought periods shades the soil surface and meaningfully reduces evaporation from the root zone.

Drought history and 2026 outlook in Mississippi

Mississippi's climate generally delivers adequate rainfall, averaging between 50 and 65 inches annually depending on location, which places it among the wetter states in the nation. Yet the state has experienced significant drought episodes that exposed the vulnerabilities of its water infrastructure.

The summer of 2000 brought one of the most damaging droughts on record for the Magnolia State. Across Mississippi, rainfall deficits of 10 to 16 inches accumulated during the growing season, devastating row crops in the Delta and creating emergency conditions for municipal systems drawing from streams in the eastern hill counties. The Leaf River dropped to near-record low flows at the Hattiesburg gauge, prompting that city to implement its first formal Stage 3 restrictions in the modern era.

The 2007–2008 drought hit the southeastern United States broadly, and Mississippi was not spared. The Pearl River at the Jackson gauge recorded flows in the lowest 10th percentile for extended stretches during the late summer of 2007. Ross Barnett Reservoir dropped enough that the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District issued formal notices to downstream permit holders. Jackson implemented Stage 2 mandatory restrictions — odd/even watering schedules — for several weeks before autumn rains provided relief.

The 2012 drought, the most widespread American drought since the 1950s Dust Bowl era, affected Mississippi's northern counties most severely. Grenada Lake and Sardis Lake dropped well below conservation pool elevations. Agricultural losses in the upper Yazoo Basin counties were substantial. While the Delta's alluvial aquifer largely buffered municipal systems in Greenville and Clarksdale, several smaller hill-country utilities declared Stage 3 conditions.

The 2019 drought, less publicized nationally but significant locally, affected south Mississippi. Pascagoula River tributary flows reached levels not recorded since the 1950s at the Leaf River near Collins gauge. Hattiesburg again activated Stage 2 restrictions, and water managers on the Gulf Coast raised alarms about saltwater intrusion risk at coastal aquifer wellfields.

These historical episodes inform why Mississippi water managers treat even a monitoring-phase drought with precautionary advisories — early voluntary action has repeatedly proven effective at stretching supply margins through dry periods without forcing costly emergency responses.

The 2026 water year for Mississippi is being shaped by a combination of climate pattern signals, infrastructure realities, and the residual dry conditions in the southern drought corridor that prompted the current monitoring status.

NOAA's Climate Prediction Center seasonal outlooks entering summer 2026 indicate elevated probability of below-normal precipitation across south Mississippi and the Gulf Coast region, consistent with a weak La Niña transitional pattern. North Mississippi and the Delta are in more neutral territory, though heat forecasts trending above historical averages statewide will elevate evapotranspiration demand on both natural systems and irrigation infrastructure.

The Pearl River basin is a key metric to watch. If the Pearl River at the Jackson gauge fails to recover to seasonal normal flows by mid-June, managers at the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District will likely begin signaling Stage 1 to Stage 2 escalation discussions. Ross Barnett Reservoir storage entering summer is the single most consequential indicator for the Jackson metropolitan area's supply security.

On the Gulf Coast, Biloxi and Gulfport water managers are monitoring the potentiometric surface of the Coastal Lowlands aquifer system. If pumping from coastal municipal wells continues to exceed natural recharge rates through a hot, dry summer, saltwater intrusion monitoring wells near the coast could begin showing chloride concentration increases — an early warning sign that would trigger immediate mandatory restriction discussions.

Agricultural demand in the Delta will compete with municipal needs for alluvial aquifer resources if summer rainfall deficits deepen. MDEQ's Water Permits Division will be watching permitted withdrawal volumes against actual use reported by large agricultural and municipal users.

Observers should also watch whether the federal drought disaster designation threshold — which triggers USDA Farm Service Agency emergency loan programs — is reached in any Mississippi county. County-level D2 designations persisting for eight consecutive weeks typically qualify for such designations, which in turn can unlock state emergency water assistance.

Frequently asked questions about Mississippi water restrictions

Are there mandatory water restrictions anywhere in Mississippi in 2026?

No. As of 2026, no Mississippi municipality has imposed mandatory water restrictions. The only formal actions in place are Stage 1 Voluntary Conservation Advisories in Jackson and Biloxi. These advisories ask — but do not legally require — customers to reduce outdoor water use. Residents in all other Mississippi cities and towns face no advisory of any kind.

What exactly does a Stage 1 Voluntary Conservation Advisory mean for Jackson residents?

A Stage 1 Voluntary Conservation Advisory in Jackson is a public request from the city's water utility asking customers to adopt water-saving behaviors voluntarily. Specific asks include limiting lawn irrigation to early morning hours before 9:00 a.m., reducing the frequency of outdoor watering to two or three times per week, fixing dripping faucets and running toilets promptly, and avoiding washing sidewalks, driveways, or vehicles except for safety reasons. There is no fine or penalty for non-compliance under a Stage 1 advisory. The city is relying on customer goodwill and conservation awareness rather than enforcement authority.

Why is Ross Barnett Reservoir important to understanding Jackson's water supply risk?

Ross Barnett Reservoir, impounded on the Pearl River northeast of Jackson, is the primary raw water source for the Jackson metro area's water treatment system. It covers approximately 33,000 acres and when full holds sufficient storage to buffer Jackson through relatively extended low-flow periods on the Pearl River. However, if summer heat and reduced rainfall cause the reservoir pool to drop significantly below its normal conservation pool elevation of 294 feet above mean sea level, the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District must reduce raw water intake rates, which constrains treatment plant output. This is why reservoir pool elevation is the single metric most closely watched by Jackson water managers during drought monitoring periods.

Is saltwater intrusion a real concern for Biloxi's drinking water in 2026?

Yes, it is a legitimate and actively monitored concern. Biloxi draws a significant portion of its municipal supply from wells completed in the Coastal Lowlands aquifer system, which underlies the Gulf Coast. When freshwater extraction rates from these aquifers exceed natural recharge — a risk that increases during hot, dry periods when demand peaks — the pressure gradient that normally keeps saline groundwater from migrating inland can weaken. Mississippi coastal water managers have instrumented monitoring wells to detect chloride concentration increases early. Current 2026 readings remain within acceptable bounds, but the voluntary conservation advisory in Biloxi is partly designed to keep withdrawal rates below thresholds that would stress the freshwater-saltwater interface.

Will my HOA be allowed to fine me for a brown lawn if Jackson moves to mandatory restrictions?

The legal landscape in Mississippi is nuanced. Mississippi Code Annotated does not contain a blanket statute protecting homeowners from HOA fines during water restriction periods in the way that some western states do. However, when a city has issued a valid mandatory restriction ordinance, compliance with that government order has traditionally been recognized as a defense against private contractual enforcement in Mississippi courts. If you are fined by your HOA for a lawn that browned as a direct result of complying with a mandatory city watering ban, you would likely have a defensible legal position. Under the current voluntary advisory, however, that protection is weaker — no mandatory government order exists, so your HOA's landscaping standards remain fully enforceable.

Which Mississippi reservoirs should I watch as drought indicators for 2026?

The four most important reservoirs to monitor are Ross Barnett Reservoir on the Pearl River near Jackson, Enid Lake on the Yocona River in Lafayette and Yalobusha counties, Grenada Lake on the Yalobusha and Skuna rivers in Grenada County, and Sardis Lake on the Little Tallahatchie River in Panola County. These reservoirs collectively supply municipal water and agricultural irrigation across a broad swath of central and north Mississippi. Pool elevation data for all four reservoirs is published in near-real-time on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Vicksburg District website. Significant departures from seasonal average pool elevations — particularly if sustained over four to six weeks — are reliable leading indicators of mandatory restriction discussions.

What conservation rebates are available to Mississippi homeowners in 2026?

Statewide residential rebate programs in Mississippi are less developed than those in water-stressed western states. However, several options exist. Biloxi residents can access a free irrigation system audit through the city's water utility at no cost. Jackson residents in qualifying income brackets can receive free toilet flappers, showerhead exchangers, and aerators through the city's leak repair assistance program funded by EPA grants. Residents near soil and water conservation district offices in Hattiesburg and on the Gulf Coast can often purchase subsidized rain barrels for $20 to $35 during periodic conservation events. Agricultural producers across the state can pursue NRCS EQIP contracts for irrigation efficiency improvements valued up to $15,000 or more depending on practice scope. Mississippi State University Extension county offices are the best starting point for identifying locally available conservation resources.

What should Mississippi homeowners do now to prepare if drought conditions worsen in summer 2026?

Water managers and the MSU Extension Service recommend several proactive steps. First, inspect your irrigation system now for broken heads, misdirected spray patterns, and leaks — fixing these before peak demand season reduces waste and cost. Second, consider adjusting your irrigation controller to a weather-based or smart controller setting if available, or simply reduce run times by 20 percent as a conservation baseline. Third, apply mulch to garden beds to a depth of 3 to 4 inches around trees and shrubs, which reduces soil moisture evaporation substantially. Fourth, know your water utility's drought ordinance stage ladder and understand at which stage restrictions in your municipality would become mandatory. Finally, check your home's water meter reading at two-hour intervals during a period when no water is being used — if the reading changes, you have a leak somewhere in your plumbing that is silently draining your supply and your wallet.