Alice Water Restrictions 2026
Jim Wells · Texas
Published: Updated:
Restrictions Active - Stage 3 Mandatory (Brackish RO Desalination Online)
0
Days/Week
Handheld hose / drip / soaker: before 10:00 a.m. or after 6:00 p.m.
Allowed Hours
Up to $2,000 per occurrence (second and subsequent violations)
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 | No automatic lawn irrigation. Handheld hose with shut-off nozzle only. |
Allowed Watering Hours
Alice is a Corpus Christi Water wholesale customer and follows Stage 3 mandatory restrictions: all lawn irrigation is banned. Handheld hose, drip, and soaker hoses are permitted before 10 a.m. or after 6 p.m. for trees, shrubs, gardens, and food crops. Alice operates Texas's first public-private brackish water reverse-osmosis desalination plant (commissioned July 29, 2025), which provides drought-resilient supply alongside the wholesale Corpus Christi water but does not exempt residents from current Stage 3 rules.
Still Allowed
💧 Hand Watering
Allowed with shut-off nozzle. Hours: Handheld hose with shut-off nozzle permitted before 10 a.m. or after 6 p.m. for trees, shrubs, gardens, and food crops. Lawn turf is not exempt..
🌿 Drip Irrigation
Exempt from day-of-week limits. Must follow allowed hours.
Fines & Enforcement
Up to $2,000 per occurrence (second and subsequent violations)
First violations receive a warning. Second and subsequent violations carry fines up to $2,000 per occurrence under the Corpus Christi Water Drought Contingency & Conservation Plan.
Citations begin Stage 3 since December 2024; brackish RO desalination launched July 29, 2025🏠 HOA Rules During Restrictions
Texas Property Code §202.007 prohibits HOAs from requiring residents to maintain green lawns in violation of active city water restrictions. HOAs cannot fine residents for brown or dormant lawns during Stage 3.
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 City of Alice Public Works. 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
Alice (Jim Wells County seat, population ~17,000) is a Corpus Christi Water wholesale customer and follows Stage 3 mandatory restrictions: all lawn irrigation is banned. Alice has been the most proactive Coastal Bend wholesale-customer city in pursuing drought-resilient supply diversification.
On July 29, 2025, the City of Alice and Seven Seas Water Group commissioned Texas's first public-private partnership (P3) brackish-water reverse-osmosis desalination plant. The plant has an initial capacity of 2.7 million gallons per day with expansion built in, and is designed to eventually provide roughly 90 per cent of Alice's daily water needs. Seven Seas operates and maintains the plant under a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) contract, supplying water to Alice at a guaranteed price per 1,000 gallons.
Despite the local desalination plant, Alice residents remain under Stage 3 wholesale-system restrictions while combined Lake Corpus Christi + Choke Canyon storage sits at roughly 7.8 per cent (May 11, 2026). The desalination plant adds resilience and reduces wholesale dependency but does not exempt customers from the current outdoor watering ban. A Level 1 Water Emergency declared system-wide would still cap Alice residents at 5,250 gallons per month under the proposed framework.
Alice is roughly 45 miles west of Corpus Christi at the rail and highway crossroads of South Texas (the 'Hub City'), with an oilfield-services economy and the Coastal Bend College Alice Campus as a major institutional water consumer.
This deficit has accumulated over the current water year and represents a significant departure from historical averages for the Alice area. Water supply reservoirs and aquifer levels are well below seasonal targets, necessitating mandatory conservation measures.
How to Keep Your Lawn Alive During Alice Water Restrictions
9 tips tailored for Alice homeowners during Stage 3 Mandatory (Brackish RO Desalination Online) restrictions.
Stage 3 bans all lawn irrigation in Alice. The brackish RO desalination plant adds supply resilience but the wholesale Corpus Christi restrictions still apply.
Handheld hose with shut-off nozzle is permitted before 10 a.m. or after 6 p.m. for trees, shrubs, gardens, and food crops.
Allow lawn turf to go fully dormant. Bermuda and St. Augustine both survive 4-6 weeks dormant.
Install a rain barrel: captured rainwater is unrestricted at every stage.
Mulch heavily (2-3 inches of wood chip) around trees and shrubs to retain moisture in caliche and clay-loam soils.
Skip vehicle washing, pool filling (top-offs allowed), and decorative fountains. Stage 3 prohibits all of these.
Convert ornamental turf to South Texas natives (Texas mountain laurel, agarita, cenizo, esperanza) or xeriscape with caliche-tolerant ground covers.
Skip fertiliser and aeration through summer. Both accelerate lawn decline under Stage 3 conditions.
Monitor cityofalice.org weekly. If a Level 1 Water Emergency is declared system-wide, the 5,250 gal/month cap would apply to Alice residents even though local desalination provides partial supply.
Alice Water Restriction FAQs
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