Skip to content
WateringTimes

Long Beach Utilities Department

Long Beach Watering Schedule

Mandatory scheduleRules verified August 27, 2026

Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays only, all year

  • Water landscape on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays only. The days are the same for every address, with no odd or even split.
  • Water only before 9 a.m. or after 4 p.m. Those hours are a prohibited use at all times, whatever the declared shortage level.
  • 10 minutes per station per watering day, or to the point of runoff, whichever occurs first. No separate allowance is printed for rotors, rotary nozzles or drip.
  • No watering during rainfall or for 48 hours after it, tied to measurable rainfall in Long Beach as reported by the National Weather Service.
  • Watering on another day is allowed only for very short periods of time for the expressed purpose of adjusting or repairing the irrigation system.
  • Level 1 has been in effect starting Aug. 1, 2023. The October through March Tuesday and Saturday schedule belongs to Level 2, which is not in effect.

Long Beach Utilities customers water landscape on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays only, before 9 a.m. or after 4 p.m. Each station runs no more than 10 minutes per watering day, or to the point of runoff, whichever occurs first. Water Shortage Contingency Plan Level 1 has been in effect starting Aug. 1, 2023, and Level 1 prints the days rule with no seasonal qualifier, so the Tuesday and Saturday winter schedule that several aggregator sites publish for Long Beach is Level 2 text that is not in effect. Watering is also barred during rainfall and for 48 hours after it. Water inside the city comes only from Long Beach Utilities, but the same department sells natural gas well beyond its water area, so a gas bill from it does not mean these watering rules cover your address.

How many minutes on each watering day

Knowing the days is half the answer. This works out the minutes from Long Beach's climate for the month you pick, then splits them across the days Long Beach Utilities Department allows, so the schedule fits the rules instead of fighting them.

Climate data

Long Beach · 45.8 in/yr

Watering days allowed this month

3 per week (All year)

About 18 minutes per watering day, 3 days a week.

That splits the week across the 3 days Long Beach Utilities Department allows in July, so the schedule fits the rules instead of fighting them.

How that was worked out

Week's climate demand: 5.6 in for July × 7 ÷ 31 days = 1.265 in

Plants need: 1.265 × 0.8 = 1.012 in this week

Run time: 1.012 ÷ (1.6 in/hr × 0.7) × 60 = 54 min per week

Split: 54 ÷ 3 watering days = 18 min each time

If water runs off the edges before the cycle ends, split each day into shorter back-to-back cycles with a soak break between them. The total minutes stay the same.

Rain is not subtracted here. Skip watering during and after rain, and follow your supplier's rain rule. Point-source drip emitters and Bubblers are not in the list above: no manufacturer publishes an inches-per-hour rate for them, so those zones are watered by volume rather than by a run time against a rate.

Want the full method, the nozzle rate tables and their sources? Open the run time calculator.

Current status

Long Beach Utilities Water Shortage Contingency Plan: LEVEL 1 (a "Level 1 Water Supply Shortage" under Resolution No. UT-1480). The department's page states: "Starting Aug. 1, 2023, Long Beach Utilities Water Shortage Contingency Plan Level 1 is in effect." No later stage change has been announced.

The schedule

All year (Water Shortage Contingency Plan Level 1)

No date range is printed. Level 1 states the days rule with no seasonal qualifier, and the page states only that Level 1 has been in effect starting Aug. 1, 2023.

Days: Assigned weekdays, not odd or even by address. As printed: "Water landscape on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays only." The governing resolution words it as a prohibition: "Irrigating a residential or commercial landscape with potable water any day other than Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday, except for very short periods of time for the expressed purpose of adjusting or repairing the irrigation system." That is 3 days per week.

Hours: As printed: "Water landscape only before 9 a.m. or after 4 p.m." The resolution words it as a prohibition at all times: "Irrigating landscape with potable water at any time other than the hours after 4:00 p.m. and before 9:00 a.m." Also printed: "No watering landscape during or 48 hours after rainfall", which the resolution ties to measurable rainfall in Long Beach as reported by the National Weather Service.

Run-time limits: As printed: "Water landscape 10 minutes per station per watering day, or to the point of runoff, whichever occurs first." The resolution words it as prohibiting "Irrigating landscape with potable water for more than ten (10) minutes per station or to the point of runoff, whichever occurs first." No per nozzle type or per sprinkler type variation is printed anywhere, so there is no separate allowance for rotors, rotary nozzles or drip.

Exemptions and always-on rules

  • Irrigation system adjustment or repair: watering on a day other than Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday is allowed "for very short periods of time for the expressed purpose of adjusting or repairing the irrigation system" (Resolution UT-1480, Section 5.B.2).
  • Public health and safety: "The prohibited uses of water in this Plan are not applicable to that use of water necessary, as determined by the General Manager, for public health and safety or for essential governmental services such as police, fire, and other similar emergency services" (Section 18).
  • Continuity of supply: nothing in the Plan requires the Department to curtail supply to a customer when, in the General Manager's discretion, that water is required by that customer to maintain an adequate level of public health and safety (Section 19.A).
  • Hardscape washing is allowed with a water-conserving pressurized cleaning device, defined as discharging water at a minimum of 1,000 pounds per square inch or rated at using less than three gallons of water per minute. A simple spray nozzle does not qualify (Section 4.E).
  • Vehicle washing is allowed when the hose has a water shut-off nozzle or device attached that prevents water from running continuously while washing (Section 4.F).
  • Recycled and reclaimed water: the day-of-week, hours and 10 minute limits are written for potable water. Irrigation with reclaimed water is restricted only against saturating the landscape so that irrigation water flows off it (Section 4.N).
  • A Notice of Violation may be dismissed by the General Manager at any time if it is determined to have been issued in error or upon good cause (Section 16).
  • IMPORTANT NEGATIVE FINDING: no exception is printed anywhere in the Water Shortage Contingency Plan or the Rules and Regulations for drip irrigation, hand watering, a hose with a shut-off nozzle used on plants, newly planted landscape, trees, edible or vegetable gardens, potted plants, hot weather days, or smart or weather-based irrigation controllers. The day, hour and 10 minute limits are written against irrigating landscape with potable water without carving any of these out. Do not import the exemptions common at other California suppliers.

Fines and enforcement

  1. Step 1, Warning Letter: before any Notice of Violation, the customer is served a Warning Letter. One Warning Letter is served for the first violation of each type of Prohibited Use of Water (Rules and Regulations, Section 1902.A).
  2. Step 2, first Notice of Violation at the current Level 1: Prohibited Use of Water (PUoW) Charge of $50.
  3. Step 3, second Notice of Violation for the same type of violation at Level 1: $100.
  4. Step 4, third Notice of Violation for the same type of violation at Level 1: $200.
  5. Step 5, fourth Notice of Violation for the same type of violation at Level 1: water service shut off.
  6. The charge table scales with the declared shortage level (first / second / third Notice of Violation, then shut off at the fourth): No Shortage $25, $50, $100. Level 1 $50, $100, $200. Level 2 $100, $200, $400. Level 3 $200, $400, $800. Level 4 $300, $600, $1,200. Level 1 is the row that currently applies.
  7. Each and every day a violation exists constitutes a separate and distinct offense (Resolution UT-1480, Section 11.B).
  8. Escalation resets over time: if no Warning Letter or other Notice of Violation has been served on the customer for a violation of the same provision within 365 calendar days of the offense, a Warning Letter is served instead of a Notice of Violation (Rules Section 1902.B).
  9. Payment is due no later than 30 days from the date of issuance of the citation. Late charges are imposed on payments made after the due date, in addition to the outstanding charge.
  10. Paying the charge does not excuse correcting the violation, and correcting the violation does not excuse paying the charge.
  11. Appeal: any recipient may appeal by completing a written request for hearing form and returning it to the Department within 30 calendar days from the date the Notice of Violation is served, together with a deposit of the charge and any late charges. A deposit waiver form is available for customers who state a financial inability to deposit the full amount.
  12. Non-payment can lead to installation of a flow restriction device or termination of water service, normally on 14 days notice. The customer pays the cost of restricting or terminating service and the cost of restoring full service before full service resumes. The Department may also file a small claims action for the charges and late penalties.

Report water waste: Anonymous online form linked as "REPORT INEFFICIENT WATER USE" at the bottom of the Water Use Restrictions page, hosted at https://us.openforms.com/Form/5f908bc3-8954-4f42-ab50-992764b367a9. The page's wording is: "If you see inefficient water use in Long Beach, let us know anonymously by clicking the button below." Long Beach Utilities main line is (562) 570-2300, the water and sewer emergency line is (562) 570-2390, and the department address is 1800 East Wardlow Road, Long Beach, CA 90807.

Is this your water supplier?

Water inside the City of Long Beach comes only from Long Beach Utilities, but Signal Hill, an independent city surrounded by Long Beach, buys its water from its own City of Signal Hill water utility (about 3,150 accounts), and Long Beach Utilities natural gas service separately reaches Signal Hill, Los Alamitos, Bellflower, Compton and portions of Los Angeles County, so holding a Long Beach Utilities gas bill does not mean these watering rules apply; other nearby water suppliers include the City of Lakewood water service and California Water Service Rancho Dominguez District (Carson, Compton, Harbor City and neighboring communities).

Questions people ask

What days can I water in Long Beach?
Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays only. The days are the same for every address, because Long Beach Utilities does not split the week by odd or even house number. The three day schedule comes from Water Shortage Contingency Plan Level 1, in effect starting Aug. 1, 2023.
What hours can sprinklers run?
Only before 9 a.m. or after 4 p.m. The resolution words it as a prohibition on irrigating landscape with potable water at any time other than the hours after 4:00 p.m. and before 9:00 a.m. That ban sits in the section covering prohibited uses of water at all times, so it does not change with the declared shortage level.
How long can each sprinkler station run?
10 minutes per station per watering day, or to the point of runoff, whichever occurs first. Long Beach Utilities prints no per nozzle or per sprinkler type variation, so there is no separate allowance for rotors, rotary nozzles, drip or bubblers. The limit is a Level 1 provision, and Level 1 is what is in effect.
Is there a different winter schedule from October through March?
No. Level 1, which is in effect, prints the days rule with no date range and no seasonal qualifier. The Tuesday and Saturday only schedule for October through March that several California aggregator sites publish for Long Beach is Section 6.B.1 of the same resolution, which applies only during a declared Level 2 shortage, and Level 2 is not in effect.
Is drip irrigation, hand watering or a new lawn exempt?
No. No exception is printed anywhere in the Water Shortage Contingency Plan or the Rules and Regulations for drip irrigation, hand watering, a hose with a shut-off nozzle used on plants, newly planted landscape, trees, edible or vegetable gardens, potted plants, hot weather days, or smart or weather-based irrigation controllers. The exceptions that do exist are watering on another day for very short periods of time for the expressed purpose of adjusting or repairing the irrigation system, use the General Manager determines is necessary for public health and safety, and reclaimed water, which is restricted only against saturating the landscape so that irrigation water flows off it. Hardscape washing is allowed with a water-conserving pressurized cleaning device discharging at a minimum of 1,000 pounds per square inch or rated at using less than three gallons of water per minute, and vehicle washing is allowed when the hose has a shut-off nozzle or device attached that prevents water from running continuously.
What is the fine for watering on the wrong day?
A Warning Letter comes first, served for the first violation of each type of Prohibited Use of Water. At the current Level 1, the first Notice of Violation carries a Prohibited Use of Water charge of $50, a second for the same type of violation is $100, a third is $200, and a fourth means water service is shut off. Each and every day a violation exists constitutes a separate and distinct offense. Search summaries that quote $100, then $250, then $500 do not match the department's adopted charge table.
What happens when it rains?
No watering landscape during or 48 hours after rainfall. The resolution ties the rule to measurable rainfall in Long Beach as reported by the National Weather Service. Like the hours, it is a prohibited use at all times, so it holds no matter which shortage level is declared.
My address says Long Beach but these rules do not match my bill. Why?
Water inside the City of Long Beach comes only from Long Beach Utilities, but the department's natural gas service reaches farther, into Signal Hill, Los Alamitos, Bellflower, Compton and portions of Los Angeles County, so a Long Beach Utilities gas bill does not mean these watering rules apply. Signal Hill is an independent city surrounded by Long Beach and buys its water from its own City of Signal Hill water utility, about 3,150 accounts. Other nearby water suppliers include the City of Lakewood water service and California Water Service Rancho Dominguez District, which covers Carson, Compton, Harbor City and neighboring communities.
How do I report water waste in Long Beach?
Long Beach Utilities takes anonymous reports through the REPORT INEFFICIENT WATER USE button at the bottom of its Water Use Restrictions page, which opens the form at https://us.openforms.com/Form/5f908bc3-8954-4f42-ab50-992764b367a9. The page's wording is that if you see inefficient water use in Long Beach, you can let the department know anonymously. The main line is (562) 570-2300, the water and sewer emergency line is (562) 570-2390, and the department address is 1800 East Wardlow Road, Long Beach, CA 90807.

Sources

WateringTimes is an informational gardening and landscape reference for California. Watering numbers are estimates computed from public state data. Nothing on this site is regulatory or professional advice of any kind. Check your water supplier’s current rules before relying on any schedule.