Riverside watering schedule 2026

There are no mandatory watering days. Riverside is at Stage One, Normal Water Supply, and RMC 14.22.020(C) reads: "Stage one conservation measures are voluntary, and will be encouraged through public outreach, education, and awareness measures by the City." Table 6.14.040A of the Code labels Stage 1 as "Normal Conditions" with "Voluntary Conservation Measures" and "Standard" enforcement, so no day assignment and no days-per-week cap applies to a household address. The city's own advice is split on frequency: a 2019 city press page says "In summer, water 3 days a week and 4 days when it is really hot" and "In winter, water twice a week for a healthy, green lawn", while RPU's current Water Efficiency page says "Many established landscapes and lawns need to be watered one or two times per week." Neither number is set by ordinance or resolution.

RMC 14.22.030(B)(1) reads: "Non-agricultural irrigation should be done from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 a.m. Irrigation water cannot leave the landscaped area." That window is live, because Stage One is the declared stage, but the operative verb is "should", so it works as a directed practice rather than a citable clock restriction. The 2025 Water Shortage Contingency Plan, adopted June 23, 2026, marks the 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 a.m. line "No" in its "Penalty, Charge, or Other Enforcement?" column while marking every water waste prohibition "Yes". The second half of that same sentence is different: runoff is prohibited at all times under RMC 14.22.010(B)(1). RPU's Water Efficiency page gives the same timing as advice, "Water early in the morning (before 10a.m.) or later in the evening (after 6 p.m.)", and suggests cycle and soak, "instead of watering for 20 consecutive minutes, run sprinklers in four 5-minute sessions."

No. Outdoor watering during and within 48 hours after measurable rainfall is prohibited at all times under RMC 14.22.010(B)(5). This is one of the few outdoor timing rules that is enforceable while Stage One is the declared stage, so it can draw a citation even though the evening watering window cannot.

The prohibitions in RMC 14.22.010 are in force at all times, whatever the stage, and those are the ones behind a Riverside water citation today. They cover applying potable water to outdoor landscapes in a manner that causes runoff onto adjacent property, non-irrigated areas, walkways, roadways, parking lots or structures; hosing down driveways and sidewalks; washing a vehicle with a hose that has no shut-off nozzle; running a decorative fountain that does not recirculate; watering during and within 48 hours after measurable rainfall; irrigating ornamental turf on public street medians; serving drinking water other than on request; and a separate rule for newly constructed landscape. The carve-outs are narrow: RMC 14.22.010(B) does not apply "where necessary to address an immediate health and safety need or to comply with a term or condition in a permit issued by a state or federal agency"; vehicle washing is allowed if the hose has a shut-off nozzle or device that stops the flow immediately when not in use (RMC 14.22.010(B)(2)); fountains and decorative water features are allowed where the water is part of a recirculating system (RMC 14.22.010(B)(4)); and RMC 14.22.010(D) states that a splash pad is a recreational feature and its operation is not prohibited as an unreasonable use of water. RMC 14.22.030(B)(2) permits irrigation with graywater, as defined in the California Health and Safety Code, and with recycled water on any day and at any time, subject only to permits issued by the City. The Stage One hours line is written for "non-agricultural irrigation", so agricultural irrigation sits outside it, and RPU's own AB 1572 page states that single-family homes are exempt from the state nonfunctional turf prohibition, including homes inside a homeowners association. One carve-out is gone: drip and microspray irrigated landscape was exempt from Stage One before 2021, and Ordinance No. 7556 struck that language, so it is no longer current text.

A courtesy notice comes first. RMC 14.22.080(A) states that a violation of the water conservation article may be enforced by an administrative citation issued under Chapter 1.17, and that "Prior to issuance of an administrative citation, the City shall give one courtesy notice requesting voluntary correction of the violation." The citation amounts in RMC 1.17.230(A), as amended by Ordinance No. 7767 in 2026, are $100.00 for the first occurrence, $500.00 for the second occurrence of the same type of violation, and $1,000.00 for the third and each subsequent occurrence of the same type, payable within 30 calendar days. Each day a violation continues is a new, separate and distinct violation under RMC 1.17.080. Two separate routes sit behind that: administrative civil penalties are capped by RMC 1.17.300(D) at $1,000.00 per day per violation and $100,000.00 per parcel plus interest, and under RMC 1.01.110 a Code violation charged as an infraction carries a fine not exceeding $250.00 while a misdemeanor carries a fine of not more than $1,000.00, up to six months in County jail, or both. RPU Water Rule 15, effective May 18, 1995, adds that a person wasting water pays the City for all such water at Water Rate Schedule WA-1 rates even though it is not metered, and after written notice the Director may shut off the water supply to the premises. Because Stage One measures are voluntary, a citation would rest on the RMC 14.22.010 list, not on the 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 a.m. window.

Neither one is current. Per-station run time caps of 15 minutes for pop-up spray sprinklers and 30 minutes for impact and rotor sprinklers used to sit in RMC 14.22.030(B)(1), and Ordinance No. 7556 struck them in 2021; no minute limits appear anywhere else in Chapter 14.22, and the old Stage Three sprinkler run time clause now reads "[Reserved.]". The three-times-per-week figure comes from July 2022, when the Council directed implementation of the Level 2 demand reduction actions in the Water Shortage Contingency Plan to meet a State Water Resources Control Board emergency regulation. The staff memo for that item said the Council was not being asked to declare a water shortage emergency, and no resolution declaring Stage Two was adopted. The Governor rescinded the state demand reduction requirement on March 24, 2023, so a page still showing a three-day cap for Riverside is quoting drought-era material.

Each higher stage needs a City Council resolution first, and none has been adopted since Stage One was reinstated on June 28, 2016. Stage Two (RMC 14.22.040) would make all Stage One measures mandatory, restrict irrigation to 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 a.m. with irrigation prohibited any day from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and cap watering at three times per week. Stage Three (RMC 14.22.050) would cap watering at three times per week from April through October and two times per week from November through March. Stage Four (RMC 14.22.060) would allow only trees and shrubs, with odd addresses on Saturdays and even addresses on Sundays, 8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. Treat all of that as standby text, not as the schedule for a Riverside address today.

RPU is the retail water utility for the City of Riverside and has served the city since 1913, drawing mainly on local groundwater under the Western-San Bernardino Judgment. Addresses outside the RPU service area are not covered by RMC Chapter 14.22 and follow their own supplier's rules. The 2025 Water Shortage Contingency Plan documents connections to neighboring systems: an emergency intertie with the City of Colton, a distribution system connection to the City of Corona, a two-way emergency connection with the City of San Bernardino, a connection to East Valley Water District near Pedley, an emergency and wholesale intertie with the City of Norco on Arlington Avenue, and several connections with Western Municipal Water District at Green Orchard, Fair Isle at Box Springs, the Mills imported water connection, Praed and Lake Hills, and Van Buren at Mockingbird. Those are pipes between systems rather than service area lines, so anyone near a city boundary should confirm which utility bills their meter before applying these rules.

Water waste is reported to the City through 311. RPU's Drought Status page directs anyone who spots water runoff or other water waste to report it through the 311 mobile app or the online form at RiversideCA.gov/311, and asks reporters to give the exact address and describe the water waste. Code Enforcement, working with RPU, issues a courtesy notice first, as RMC 14.22.080(A) requires, before any citation. For nonfunctional turf questions under AB 1572, RPU's Programs and Services team can be reached at (951) 826-5485.