Brick Water Restrictions 2026
Ocean County · New Jersey
Published:
NJDEP Statewide Drought Warning - Voluntary Conservation Since December 5, 2025
No assigned schedule
Voluntary conservation
No mandatory hour restrictions; NJDEP advises watering before 10 a.m. or after 6 p.m. to limit evaporation
Allowed Hours
No fines
Voluntary, no penalties
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 | No mandatory schedule; NJDEP recommends a voluntary limit of 2 days per week |
Allowed Watering Hours
Brick is unusual among New Jersey towns because it has a standing, year-after-year summer watering ordinance that is separate from any NJDEP drought tier. Under Brick Township Code Chapter 486 (Water Emergencies) and the BTMUA's seasonal outdoor-water rule, outside water use is restricted every year from May 15 through September 15: homes with odd-numbered street addresses water on odd-numbered calendar days, and homes with even-numbered addresses water on even-numbered days. On your assigned day, lawn and landscape watering, car washing, and pool filling are only permitted before 10 a.m. or after 6 p.m. This local summer schedule applies regardless of the statewide Drought Warning. The NJDEP voluntary 2-day-per-week limit layers on top of it, so during summer 2026 BTMUA customers should follow the odd/even ordinance and additionally aim to keep total lawn watering to no more than two days a week.
Still Allowed
💧 Hand Watering
Allowed with shut-off nozzle. Hours: Hand watering with a shut-off nozzle is permitted any day under the voluntary Drought Warning.
🌿 Drip Irrigation
Exempt from day-of-week limits. Must follow allowed hours.
Fines & Enforcement
No fines under the voluntary Drought Warning
The NJDEP Statewide Drought Warning is voluntary and carries no fines. Mandatory restrictions and penalties would apply only if the Governor escalates to a Drought Emergency, the fourth and most serious NJDEP tier. Separately, Brick Township Code Chapter 486 makes violations of a declared local water emergency, and of the May 15 to September 15 odd/even ordinance, enforceable as municipal code violations punishable under the township's general penalty provision (Chapter 1, Section 1-15). Penalties for the local ordinance are set by Brick Township, not by NJDEP.
🏠 HOA Rules During Restrictions
If you live in a homeowners or condominium association in Brick, association landscaping rules are governed by the New Jersey Condominium Act (N.J.S.A. 46:8B) and your community's bylaws. The NJDEP measures are currently voluntary, so an HOA may still expect a green lawn, but Brick's own May 15 to September 15 odd/even ordinance is binding township law that an HOA cannot override. Ask your board to align irrigation-contract schedules with both the odd/even rule and the voluntary 2-day-per-week guidance.
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 Brick Township Municipal Utilities Authority. 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
New Jersey has been under an NJDEP Statewide Drought Warning, the third of four escalating tiers, since December 5, 2025. The Drought Warning is voluntary: it asks residents and businesses to cut nonessential water use and recommends limiting lawn watering to two days per week, but it carries no fines. Only the Governor can escalate to a mandatory Drought Emergency. The Sherrill administration and NJDEP, led by Acting Commissioner Ed Potosnak, have kept the warning in place because the dry pattern has not broken; State Geologist Steven Domber has described it as a chronic water supply drought, the scale of which the state has not seen in more than twenty years.
The data behind the warning is stark. New Jersey recorded below-normal precipitation in 20 of the last 24 months and just lived through its driest 365-day period in two decades. The drought area expanded again in May 2026. Brick sits in NJDEP's Coastal North drought region, one of the areas flagged as still stressed when conditions were reassessed this spring.
Water in Brick is supplied by the Brick Township Municipal Utilities Authority (BTMUA), the municipal utility serving roughly 75,000 residents across the township. BTMUA's supply is diversified: its primary source is surface water from the Metedeconk River and the 1-billion-gallon Brick Township Reservoir, backed by deep high-volume wells that tap the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer nearly 2,000 feet down, plus a small draw from the Cohansey aquifer. That mix is a deliberate hedge, because a long-term monitoring program has tracked a rising salt front moving up the Metedeconk; when salinity encroaches near the river intake, especially in late summer, BTMUA leans on the reservoir and wells instead. Drought conditions tighten that balance, which is why Brick keeps a standing summer ordinance even in normal years.
Brick is Ocean County's second-largest municipality after Toms River, an affluent suburban township on the Barnegat Bay watershed. Summer is its peak season for water demand: irrigated lawns, backyard pools, hot tubs, and the constant rinsing of boats and gear at bay-front homes all spike usage exactly when the Metedeconk is most vulnerable to the salt front. Trimming outdoor water use in Brick is not only a drought response, it directly protects the township's own drinking-water supply and the health of Barnegat Bay.
This deficit has accumulated over the current water year and represents a significant departure from historical averages for the Brick area. Water supply reservoirs and aquifer levels are below seasonal targets, prompting regional voluntary conservation guidance.
How to Keep Your Lawn Alive During Brick Water Restrictions
11 tips tailored for Brick homeowners during NJDEP Statewide Drought Warning - Voluntary Conservation Since December 5, 2025 restrictions.
Follow Brick's odd/even ordinance year-round: water on odd calendar days if your address ends in an odd number, even days if even, only May 15 through September 15.
Stick to the ordinance hours, before 10 a.m. or after 6 p.m., when wind and evaporation are lowest on the Jersey Shore.
Brick's sandy, fast-draining soil cannot hold a deep soak; water for shorter cycles more often rather than one long flood that runs off.
Top-dress lawns with compost in fall, sandy Coastal North soil holds moisture far better once organic matter is worked in.
Set your mower high, 3.5 to 4 inches, so taller turf shades the soil and slows drying in the open coastal sun.
Let your lawn go dormant and tan in midsummer; cool-season grass is not dead, it greens up when the rain returns.
Use a rain gauge or a free soil-moisture probe; bay-influenced humidity can be misleading, and Brick yards are often wetter than they look.
Rinse boats, kayaks, and fishing gear with a shut-off nozzle bucket rinse instead of a running hose, hand washing is allowed any day.
Cover pools and hot tubs when not in use to cut evaporation, a major share of Brick's seasonal demand.
Direct downspouts and rain barrels to garden beds so storm runoff waters plants instead of draining toward Barnegat Bay.
Choose drought-tough tall fescue and native coastal plants for new beds, they need far less irrigation than thirsty ornamentals.
Brick Water Restriction FAQs
What days can I water my lawn in Brick?
What hours can I run my sprinklers in Brick?
What are the fines for water violations in Brick?
Can I install new sod or seed in Brick during restrictions?
When will water restrictions end in Brick?
Does Brick have watering rules even when there is no statewide drought?
Where does Brick Township's drinking water come from?
Can I fill my swimming pool in Brick this summer?
Are there fines for over-watering in Brick right now?
How do I report a water main break or ask BTMUA a question?
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