Riverside Water Restrictions 2026
Riverside County · California
Published:
Restrictions Active - Stage 2 + MWD Level 1 – Mandatory Conservation
3
Days/Week
Before 9:00 AM
Allowed Hours
$100 first · $200 second · $500 third+
Max Fine
Find Your Watering Day
Enter the last digit of your street address:
View full address schedule table
| Address Ending | Watering Day |
|---|---|
| Odd | Monday & Wednesday & Friday |
| Even | Tuesday & Thursday & Saturday |
Allowed Watering Hours
No sprinkler irrigation between 9:00 AM and 6:00 PM year-round. Maximum 10 minutes per spray-head zone per watering day; rotary nozzles 30 minutes. Riverside relies heavily on local Bunker Hill Basin groundwater, but Stage 2 still applies because regional MWD supply (used to refill the basin) was cut to 30% SWP allocation for 2026.
Still Allowed
💧 Hand Watering
Allowed with shut-off nozzle. Hours: Any day with a shut-off nozzle; drip and soaker hoses exempt.
🌿 Drip Irrigation
Exempt from day-of-week limits. Must follow allowed hours.
Fines & Enforcement
$100 first · $200 second · $500 third+
RPU Water Conservation patrols neighbourhoods and responds to complaints via the online Water Waste form. First detected violation: warning. Second: $100. Third: $200. Fourth+: $500. Commercial and multi-family properties face up to $1,500 per occurrence. UC Riverside campus and other large-acreage institutional accounts have separate water-budget agreements.
Citations begin MWD Level 1 declared March 2026🏠 HOA Rules During Restrictions
California Water Code §10631.5 prohibits HOAs from fining residents for drought-compliant brown lawns during a declared shortage. California Civil Code §4735 prevents HOAs from penalizing homeowners who reduce irrigation under a state or local conservation order, and explicitly allows artificial turf installation notwithstanding CC&R restrictions. The MWD Level 1 declaration plus your local agency's retail stage qualify as the state-recognized triggers – document both if your HOA sends a violation letter.
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 Riverside Public Utilities. 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
Riverside is served by Riverside Public Utilities (RPU) – Water Division, a member agency of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD). On March 2026 MWD declared a Level 1 Water Shortage Condition for all 26 member agencies (covering roughly 19 million residents) – the first regional Level 1 since 2022. The trigger: State Water Project allocation cut to 30% for the 2026 water year, continued Colorado River shortage operating under post-2007 Interim Guidelines, and Diamond Valley Lake (MWD's largest local storage) dropping below the 65% planning threshold.
Riverside is one of the few large Inland Empire cities that relies primarily on local groundwater (Bunker Hill Basin, shared with neighbouring San Bernardino) rather than direct MWD imported supply. The basin is a major regional aquifer fed by the Santa Ana River watershed. Even so, Riverside is an MWD member through Western Municipal Water District (the wholesale provider) and any draw on imported supply during dry years is capped by MWD's Level 1 allocation framework. UC Riverside is a major customer with separate institutional water-budget arrangements; the campus has invested in xeriscape and recycled-water irrigation since the early 2010s. Riverside's citrus heritage and the historic California Citrus State Historic Park shape a strong local conservation culture – orange-grove era irrigation is part of the city's identity.
MWD's Level 1 framework asks member agencies to target a 20% reduction in potable water use versus a 2020 baseline. Each retail agency translates that target into local rules – typically 2–3 days per week outdoor watering with a mid-day blackout window. California's permanent year-round baseline (no hosing hardscape, no irrigation within 48 hours of measurable rainfall, no runoff onto sidewalks, shut-off nozzle required on hoses) applies on top of MWD Level 1, regardless of conditions.
This deficit has accumulated over the current water year and represents a significant departure from historical averages for the Riverside area. Water supply reservoirs and aquifer levels are well below seasonal targets, necessitating mandatory conservation measures.
How to Keep Your Lawn Alive During Riverside Water Restrictions
15 tips tailored for Riverside homeowners during Stage 2 + MWD Level 1 – Mandatory Conservation restrictions.
Riverside's hot inland summers (regularly 100–110°F July–August) make warm-season Bermuda the only reliable Stage-2-compliant lawn – cool-season fescue browns severely.
Use cycle-and-soak on Riverside's adobe clay: 3 minutes on, 20-minute pause, 3 minutes – clay sheds continuous spray inside 90 seconds.
Stack the RPU $2/sq ft and SoCal Water$mart $3/sq ft turf rebates – most front-yard removals net $5/sq ft total.
UC Riverside's Botanic Gardens publishes a free 'California-Friendly Lawn Replacement Plant List' specific to Riverside's USDA Zone 9b – search the gardens.ucr.edu site for the PDF.
Programme your controller now for Riverside's assigned 2-day-per-week schedule (see the watering days finder above) and respect the mid-day blackout – automatic enforcement runs from smart-meter data plus neighbourhood patrols.
Bermuda is the most MWD-Level-1-friendly grass for SoCal lawns – set mower height to 1.5 inches and let summer dormancy set in rather than fight the schedule.
St. Augustine and tall fescue both brown noticeably under 2 days/week. Cut ¾ inch maximum on assigned days, raise mowing height to 3.5–4 inches, and hand-water mature trees with a shut-off nozzle on off-days.
Apply cycle-and-soak on slopes and clay soils: 3 minutes on, 20-minute pause, 3 minutes – SoCal clay sheds continuous spray inside 90 seconds.
Mulch ornamental beds 3 inches deep with arborist wood chips. Bare soil in inland SoCal loses 0.5 inch of moisture per day in May–September.
Replace overhead spray heads on narrow strips with subsurface drip – drip is exempt from day-of-week limits and uses 30–50% less water.
Fix broken or misaligned sprinkler heads within 48 hours. Visible runoff onto sidewalks and driveways is a same-day citation under California's permanent year-round baseline.
Stack rebates: SoCal Water$mart ($3/sq ft turf removal) plus your retail agency's local match brings most front-yard conversions to $4–$5/sq ft.
Install a WaterSense-labeled smart controller with a rain sensor – most SoCal retail agencies offer $80–$200 rebates and the controller pays back in one summer.
Skip your assigned cycle after 0.5 inch of rainfall in the prior 48 hours. California law requires rain sensors on any system installed after 1991.
Track weekly water use at riversideca.gov/utilities/water – Level 1's reduction target is 20% below 2020 baseline; meter-level alerts catch leaks before the bill arrives.
Riverside Water Restriction FAQs
What days can I water my lawn in Riverside?
What hours can I run my sprinklers in Riverside?
What are the fines for water violations in Riverside?
Can I install new sod or seed in Riverside during restrictions?
When will water restrictions end in Riverside?
Is this Riverside, CA, or Riverside, IL?
Riverside relies on groundwater – am I really affected by Colorado River shortage?
UC Riverside students in dorms – do I count toward the household water budget?
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