Auburn Water Restrictions 2026
Lee County · Alabama
Published: Updated:
Restrictions Active - Phase II Drought Warning - Effective May 1, 2026
Surcharges
Mandatory, rate-based
No mandatory hour restrictions under Phase II; AWWB recommends watering before 10 a.m. or after 6 p.m. to reduce evaporation
Allowed Hours
25 per cent surcharge on usage above thresholds (~$5.21/1,000 gallons over baseline)
Max Fine
Find Your Watering Day
This city assigns watering days by property location, not by address digit. Find your assigned days in the table below.
Watering schedule by property location
| Property Location | Watering Day |
|---|---|
| All addresses | Voluntary scheduling; 25 per cent surcharge on usage above thresholds |
Allowed Watering Hours
Auburn Water Works Board Phase II Drought Warning applies surcharge-based conservation rather than time-of-day or address-day restrictions. A 25 per cent surcharge applies to all water use above 3,000 gallons per cycle on irrigation meter classes, and above 12,000 gallons per cycle on residential 3/4-inch meters. The surcharge rate works out to roughly $5.21 per 1,000 gallons over baseline. AWWB targets a 20 per cent reduction in overall demand. If you are a customer of a utility other than AWWB (Auburn purchases some water from Opelika Utilities to service certain areas of town), these Phase II restrictions may not apply directly.
Still Allowed
💧 Hand Watering
Allowed with shut-off nozzle. Hours: Hand watering and drip irrigation permitted any time. Surcharge thresholds apply on metered water regardless of method..
🌿 Drip Irrigation
Exempt from day-of-week limits. Must follow allowed hours.
Fines & Enforcement
25 per cent surcharge on usage above thresholds (~$5.21/1,000 gallons over baseline)
Auburn's Phase II response is surcharge-based, not citation-based. The surcharge applies automatically on the water bill for usage above 3,000 gallons per cycle (irrigation meter) or 12,000 gallons per cycle (residential 3/4-inch meter). If Auburn escalates to Phase III, harder restrictions on outdoor watering would apply. Eric Carson, City of Auburn Water Resource Management director, stated the goal is a 20 per cent demand reduction to preserve Lake Ogletree and Saugahatchee Creek supplies through summer.
Citations begin May 1, 2026🏠 HOA Rules During Restrictions
Alabama does not have explicit statewide HOA protections during drought emergencies. Auburn HOAs should not require homeowners to violate AWWB conservation guidance, but residents experiencing HOA pressure over brown lawns during Phase II should document the AWWB declaration and contact City of Auburn Water Resource Management for support.
If your homeowners association sends a violation notice for a dormant or brown lawn during the current restriction period, respond in writing citing the applicable law and include a copy of the current restriction order from Auburn Water Works Board. Most HOAs will rescind the notice once they are made aware of the legal protections in place. If the issue persists, contact your county’s code enforcement division for assistance.
Why These Restrictions Exist
The Auburn Water Works Board (AWWB) enacted a Phase II Drought Warning effective May 1, 2026 in response to recurring monthly rainfall deficits since late summer 2025 and significant rises in demand from irrigation and outdoor water usage. Auburn's primary water sources are Lake Ogletree (impounded on Choctafaula Creek) and Saugahatchee Creek; both are showing the cumulative effect of below-average winter and spring rainfall. The Phase II response is surcharge-based: a 25 per cent surcharge applies to usage above 3,000 gallons per cycle on irrigation meters or above 12,000 gallons per cycle on residential 3/4-inch meters. For a residential 3/4-inch meter with a current rate of $4.17 per 1,000 gallons, the surcharge brings the rate to $5.21 per 1,000 gallons above the threshold.
AWWB targets a 20 per cent demand reduction overall. Eric Carson, the City of Auburn Water Resource Management director, said the goal is to conserve regional sources through the extended dry period. If conditions worsen, AWWB has a Phase III escalation path that would impose harder outdoor-watering restrictions.
Auburn's situation is distinct from Opelika's: Opelika Utilities operates a separate service area in the same Lee County metro and has not declared Phase II as of mid-May 2026. Auburn purchases some water from Opelika Utilities to service certain areas of town. Verify which utility serves your address on your water bill before applying Phase II rules. Auburn University (~30,000 students) is the largest single institutional customer in the AWWB service area; the university operates its own irrigation policy aligned with AWWB Phase II.
Auburn-Opelika is Alabama's second-largest metropolitan area. Auburn is one of the state's fastest-growing cities, and outdoor irrigation demand has scaled faster than water supply. Phase II is the first formal drought response from AWWB in 2026 and follows a multi-month rainfall deficit pattern across the Piedmont and east-central Alabama.
This deficit has accumulated over the current water year and represents a significant departure from historical averages for the Auburn area. Water supply reservoirs and aquifer levels are well below seasonal targets, necessitating mandatory conservation measures.
How to Keep Your Lawn Alive During Auburn Water Restrictions
10 tips tailored for Auburn homeowners during Phase II Drought Warning - Effective May 1, 2026 restrictions.
Phase II is a surcharge-based response, not a watering ban: track your monthly meter use against 3,000 gallons (irrigation) or 12,000 gallons (residential 3/4-inch) thresholds to avoid the surcharge.
Bermuda and Zoysia handle Auburn's heat well and can go dormant for 4-6 weeks during peak summer drought without dying. Allow dormancy rather than overwatering.
Water deeply once or twice weekly rather than shallowly each day. Auburn's clay-loam soils hold moisture if watered to 6-8 inches depth.
Mow at 3-3.5 inches to shade the soil and reduce evapotranspiration in Lee County's humid summer.
Install a rain barrel: captured rainwater is not metered and falls outside the surcharge threshold entirely.
Convert ornamental turf to drought-tolerant Southeast natives (yaupon holly, beautyberry, muhly grass) or expand mulched beds.
Skip nitrogen fertiliser through summer: it forces growth that demands more water and accelerates lawn decline during Phase II.
Auburn University students living in dorms: campus water use is metered to the university account, not your dorm. Off-campus rental tenants should check whether utilities are landlord-paid (no direct cost signal) or tenant-paid before assuming usage habits are economically optimised.
Game-day RV parking water hookups during Auburn football season fall under commercial / institutional accounts: those are billed separately and do not affect your household residential threshold.
Monitor auburnal.gov/water-resource-management/drought-monitor weekly. Phase III escalation would impose harder outdoor-watering restrictions if Phase II does not achieve the 20 per cent reduction target.
Auburn Water Restriction FAQs
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