Brownsville Water Restrictions 2026
Cameron County · Texas
Published:
Restrictions Active - BPUB Stage 2 Mandatory Drought Restrictions, In Effect Since September 2023 and Continuing Through 2026
2
Days/Week
12:00 AM to 7:00 AM
Allowed Hours
No monetary fine at Stage 2
Max Fine
Find Your Watering Day
Enter the last digit of your street address:
View full address schedule table
| Address Ending | Watering Day |
|---|---|
| Last digit 0 or 1 | Monday & Saturday |
| Last digit 2 or 3 | Tuesday & Saturday |
| Last digit 4 or 5 | Wednesday & Saturday |
| Last digit 6 or 7 | Thursday & Sunday |
| Last digit 8 or 9 | Friday & Sunday |
Allowed Watering Hours
BPUB Stage 2 limits sprinkler and in-ground landscape irrigation to two days per week assigned by the last digit of your service address, and only during the cooler hours of midnight to 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. to midnight. Last digit 0 or 1 waters Monday and Saturday, 2 or 3 Tuesday and Saturday, 4 or 5 Wednesday and Saturday, 6 or 7 Thursday and Sunday, and 8 or 9 Friday and Sunday. BPUB publishes a Watering Schedule Checker tool on brownsville-pub.com so customers can confirm their assigned days. Vehicle washing at home is permitted only on your assigned landscape days, from midnight to 10:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. to midnight. The schedule reflects acute pressure on the Lower Rio Grande Valley supply: Brownsville sits at the tail end of the Rio Grande and depends on releases from the binational Amistad and Falcon reservoirs, which have hovered near or below the 25 percent combined-capacity trigger that activates Stage 2.
Still Allowed
💧 Hand Watering
Allowed with shut-off nozzle. Hours: Hand-held garden hoses are treated as landscape irrigation under BPUB Stage 2 and must follow the same two-days-per-week, midnight to 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. to midnight window assigned by your address. A hand-held container such as a watering can or bucket is generally allowed any day for spot watering of plants and trees..
🌿 Drip Irrigation
Exempt from day-of-week limits. Must follow allowed hours.
Fines & Enforcement
No monetary fine at Stage 2
Under the current Stage 2 framework, BPUB and City of Brownsville code enforcement issue notices of violation or written warnings for off-schedule irrigation, runoff into the street, dust-control hosing, or building washing. BPUB has stated that customers will not be assessed a financial penalty and will not have water service disconnected at Stage 2; repeated or egregious violations can escalate enforcement if the city moves to a higher drought stage.
Citations begin September 18, 2023🏠 HOA Rules During Restrictions
Texas Property Code Section 202.007 protects homeowners during mandatory watering restrictions: a property owners association may not fine a resident for brown, dormant, or discolored turf, and may not enforce a covenant requiring green grass, during the restrictions or for 60 days after they are lifted. The same section bars HOAs from unreasonably blocking drought-resistant landscaping, water-conserving turf, or rainwater harvesting systems. BPUB Stage 2 is a mandatory municipal restriction and supersedes any conflicting HOA watering rule inside Brownsville.
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 Brownsville Public Utilities 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
Texas is in a multi-year drought emergency, with the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) coordinating statewide response. The U.S. Drought Monitor places Cameron County and the wider Lower Rio Grande Valley in exceptional drought, the most severe category. TWDB's regional water planning projects a 924,400 acre-foot shortfall for the Lower Rio Grande Valley by 2030 if conditions do not improve, and the Amistad and Falcon reservoirs on the Rio Grande mainstem, which together supply nearly every city in the Valley, have sat at record-low combined levels in 2026, hovering around 26 percent of conservation capacity.
BPUB's Stage 2 Drought Contingency Plan was activated on September 18, 2023, when combined Amistad and Falcon storage fell below the 25 percent (834,600 acre-foot) trigger, only the second time in BPUB history that Stage 2 had been called, the first being during the late-1990s drought that prompted construction of the desalination plant. Stage 2 has remained continuously in effect through 2026, with BPUB reiterating the schedule as reservoirs failed to recover through winter and spring 2026.
Brownsville's supply profile is unusual for Texas. The Rio Grande remains the primary source, drawn through BPUB's surface-water treatment plants, but the city is also part-owner of the Southmost Regional Water Authority brackish groundwater desalination plant, a 10 million gallon per day reverse-osmosis facility that pulls from wells in the Rio Grande Alluvium of the Gulf Coast Aquifer. SRWA is pursuing a $213 million expansion to 20 MGD, a project local officials describe as essential to making the region effectively drought-resilient.
The drought is colliding with rapid industrial growth. The 1944 U.S.-Mexico Water Treaty governs Rio Grande deliveries, and Mexico has run a deep water debt to the Valley for years, deepening the shortfall. At the same time, the proposed America First Refining project at the Port of Brownsville, the first new U.S. Gulf Coast refinery in nearly 50 years, could draw close to 17 percent of Brownsville's current water demand, intensifying pressure on BPUB's Rio Grande allocation and the desalination plant just as residential customers are asked to cut back.
This deficit has accumulated over the current water year and represents a significant departure from historical averages for the Brownsville area. Water supply reservoirs and aquifer levels are well below seasonal targets, necessitating mandatory conservation measures.
How to Keep Your Lawn Alive During Brownsville Water Restrictions
11 tips tailored for Brownsville homeowners during BPUB Stage 2 Mandatory Drought Restrictions, In Effect Since September 2023 and Continuing Through 2026 restrictions.
Mow Bermuda and Zoysia at 2.5 to 3 inches and St. Augustine at 3.5 to 4 inches so deeper roots can mine subtropical Brownsville soils for moisture between Stage 2 watering windows.
Apply 1.0 to 1.5 inches of water across both assigned days combined, not per day, to avoid runoff on Brownsville's sandy loam and clay loam soils that crust over quickly.
Run sprinklers in the midnight to dawn window when Gulf coastal humidity is highest and evapotranspiration is at its lowest, capturing the most plant-available water under Stage 2 hours.
Cycle and soak: split each station into two shorter runs 30 to 45 minutes apart on your assigned day to let water soak into compacted Cameron County clay rather than running into the street.
Leave grass clippings on the lawn after mowing; the mulch layer cuts evaporation, returns nitrogen, and helps St. Augustine and Bermuda survive Brownsville's 95 plus degree summer days on a two-day schedule.
Hand water trees and shrubs with a watering can or bucket on off days, which BPUB allows, focusing on the drip line of mature mesquite, ebony, and live oak that anchor many South Texas yards.
Switch ornamental beds to drip irrigation on your two assigned days, since drip delivers water directly to roots and meets BPUB Stage 2 rules without overspray.
Replace thirsty cool-season annuals with Brownsville-native and adapted plants like Texas sage, esperanza, lantana, plumbago, and pride of Barbados, which thrive in subtropical heat with minimal irrigation.
Check your irrigation controller after every Gulf rain event; even a half inch of storm rainfall in the Valley can replace a full Stage 2 cycle if you skip the next assigned run.
Apply for a BPUB Landscape Irrigation Variance before laying new sod or installing new landscaping, since Stage 2 prohibits off-schedule watering of established turf and the four-week variance is the only legal path to establish a new lawn.
Mulch beds with 2 to 3 inches of shredded hardwood or pine bark to lock in moisture, suppress weeds, and protect roots from Brownsville's intense subtropical sun between watering days.
Brownsville Water Restriction FAQs
What days can I water my lawn in Brownsville?
What hours can I run my sprinklers in Brownsville?
What are the fines for water violations in Brownsville?
Can I install new sod or seed in Brownsville during restrictions?
When will water restrictions end in Brownsville?
What is my BPUB Stage 2 watering schedule in Brownsville?
Does Brownsville's desalination plant mean we have plenty of water?
How does the Rio Grande binational water-sharing situation affect Brownsville?
What is the fine for violating BPUB Stage 2 watering rules?
When will BPUB lift Stage 2 restrictions in Brownsville?
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