{"id":284066,"date":"2026-05-25T21:33:06","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T21:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/284066\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T21:33:06","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T21:33:06","slug":"more-than-400-tampa-residents-have-received-citations-for-violating-watering-restrictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/284066\/","title":{"rendered":"More than 400 Tampa residents have received citations for violating watering restrictions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Under our current water restrictions, people are limited to watering their lawns once a week and only during designated hours. <\/p>\n

TAMPA, Fla. \u2014 Since the water shortage started on Dec. 1, more than 430 Tampa Water Department customers have received citations for violating watering restrictions.<\/a><\/p>\n

That’s nearly 30% more people than this time last year, according to city officials.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The water department says most of those violations happened in high-use areas, where customers often exceed 10,000 gallons of water use per month. Officials said they’re now increasing water enforcement patrols in those areas.<\/p>\n


\n \"\" <\/p>\n


\n This story continues below. <\/p>\n

Those who receive citations could face fines starting at $100 for the first violation, so it’s a good idea to make sure you’re complying with the rules in place, especially as our extreme drought conditions continue.<\/p>\n

Here’s a look at the restrictions currently in place<\/a> under the Southwest Florida Water Management District Modified Phase III \u201cExtreme\u201d Water Shortage.<\/p>\n


\nWatering restrictions in place across Tampa Bay <\/p>\n

Lawn watering: One day per week only, during overnight hours (before 4 a.m. or after 8 p.m.)Car washing: Only allowed on your assigned watering day \u2014 and you must use a hose with a shutoff nozzleFountains: Limited to running for four hours per dayRestaurants: Will only serve water upon request <\/p>\n

Your assigned watering day depends on your address, typically based on the last digit of your house number.<\/p>\n

If your address (house number) ends in:<\/a><\/p>\n

0 or 1, water only on Monday2 or 3, water only on Tuesday4 or 5, water only on Wednesday6 or 7, water only on Thursday8 or 9, water only on Friday <\/p>\n


\nTampa offers free water-saving devices <\/p>\n

To avoid costly citations and help the region conserve water, the Tampa Water Department is offering several free resources, including:<\/p>\n

Free 1:1 irrigation evaluations: An official will come on site to help you locate leaks, correct irrigation controller issues, install a free rain sensor and find ways to save you money.Waived reclaimed water fees: Application and meter installation fees will be waived through Dec. 31, 2026, for customers who have access to reclaimed water but have not yet connected to the system.Florida-Friendly Landscaping assistance: FFL-certified professionals will help you create a water-wise yard.Free water-saving devices: Residents can get free water-saving tools and leak detection devices to help improve water efficiency in their homes. <\/p>\n

The Tampa Water Department says customers who participate in the irrigation evaluation program are saving an average of 5,000 gallons of water per month.<\/p>\n

Those with questions about water restrictions can contact the Tampa Water Department’s Conservation and Efficiency Team at (813) 274-8121 and select option 5 or email\u00a0SaveWater@tampa.gov<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Under our current water restrictions, people are limited to watering their lawns once a week and only during…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":284067,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-284066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284066"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284066\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/284067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}