Water Restrictions in Texas– 2026

NTMWD Member Cities — Stage 2 Year-Round

The North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD)serves all 13 member cities — Plano, McKinney, Allen, Richardson, Garland, Mesquite, Rockwall, Wylie, Frisco, Forney, Princeton, Royse City, and Farmersville— plus 80+ wholesale customer cities, drawing from Lake Lavon, Lake Texoma, Jim Chapman Lake, Lake Tawakoni, Lake Bonham, and the new Bois d’Arc Lake. About 2 million people in total.

All NTMWD member cities follow the same Stage 2 conservation rules year-round (strictest April 1–October 31): 2 days/week, no watering 10 AM–6 PM. Even-numbered addresses water Mondays and Thursdays; odd-numbered addresses water Tuesdays and Fridays. Hand-held hose, drip, and soaker hose permitted any time. Fines: $200 first violation; $500 escalating. Lake Lavon storage (currently ~71% capacity) drives Stage 3 escalation decisions (1 day/week).

View the full NTMWD utility profile → Stage triggers, supply portfolio, Bois d’Arc Lake context, and the 9 NTMWD member city pages currently on this site.

Edwards Aquifer / Hill Country — 5 cities now covered

The Edwards Aquifer J-17 index well sits at 625.9 ft — well below the 640-ft threshold required to exit Stage 3, and approaching the 630-ft Stage 4 trigger. Stage 3 has been continuous since June 2024. Hill Country is in its worst sustained drought since the 1950s drought of record.

• San Antonio– SAWS Stage 3, 1 day/week (since June 2024).
• Boerne– Stage 4 stricter than SAWS: 1 day/week, 7 PM–10 AM.
• Kerrville– Stage 3 Upper Guadalupe basin: 1 day/week, midnight–10 AM or 8 PM–midnight.
• Seguin– Stage 3 Edwards/Guadalupe blend: 1 day/week, before 10 AM or after 8 PM.
• Schertz & Cibolo– SSLGC Stage 4 — the most restrictive in Texas: once every 14 days, 6–10 AM or 8–10 PM only, $500 first-violation / $2,000 repeat fines.

Austin Metro — Pflugerville Stage 3 Emergency Disaster Declaration

Pflugerville declared a Stage 3 Emergency under its Drought Contingency Plan effective March 4, 2026 at 5:00 PM– the first such declaration in city history. Mayor Doug Weiss signed a disaster declaration alongside the order to enable state aid. Outdoor irrigation is prohibited; only indoor use and variance-approved foundation/tree watering are permitted. Citations start at $2,000. Trigger: historically low storage at Lake Pflugerville, the city’s independent off-channel reservoir on Wilbarger Creek.

Cedar Park is on Stage 3 Conservation (2 days/week) under BCRUA pressure from Lake Travis; Round Rock operates a permanent year-round 2-day schedule; Georgetown is on Drought Stage 2 (1 day/week) tied to Lake Georgetown levels. Leander is on Phase 2 (since BCRUA plant upgrade Jan 16, 2025) and Hutto is on Stage 1.

New Braunfels and San Marcosoperate stage-based schedules tied to the Edwards Aquifer Authority J-17 monitoring well – the same well that drives SAWS Stage 3. J-17 is well below the 640-ft threshold required to exit Stage 3.