Last updated:
Last verified: October 6, 2026, against San Antonio Water System (SAWS).
By the San Antonio Pro Landscape Team
San Antonio is in SAWS Stage 3, the third step of the drought plan that tracks the Edwards Aquifer. SAWS announced the return to Stage 3 on September 21, 2026. Sprinklers run one day a week, in two narrow windows, and the stage holds until the aquifer’s ten-day average sits above the 640-foot trigger long enough for SAWS to step back down. Whether your yard is in Alamo Heights, Stone Oak, Monte Vista, or out toward Helotes, here is exactly what Stage 3 allows in 2026 and how to keep a South Texas lawn presentable on it.
What is the Stage 3 watering schedule in San Antonio?
Sprinklers, irrigation systems and soaker hoses get one day a week, your designated day, and only from 5 to 10 a.m. or 9 p.m. to midnight. Drip and tree bubbler zones run Mondays and Fridays in those hours. A hand-held hose works any time. Medians and entryways with no address water on Wednesday.
- Irrigation systems, sprinklers, and soaker hoses: once a week, only on your designated watering day, and only from 5 to 10 a.m. or 9 p.m. to midnight.
- Drip irrigation and tree bubbler zones: Mondays and Fridays, same hours.
- Hand-held hose: any time, any day. This is the tool that keeps trees, beds, and stressed spots alive between legal waterings.
- Vegetable gardens: residential vegetable gardens may be watered by drip irrigation on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, during Stage 3 watering hours only. Water other beds on the drip days above, or by hand any day.
Your designated day is set by your street address; look it up on the SAWS Stage 3 watering-day schedule and program the controller to match. Areas without an address, like medians and neighborhood entryways, water on Wednesday.
What happens if I break SAWS watering rules?
A documented violation becomes a charge on your SAWS account, not a trip to court. The amounts change, so confirm the current figure with SAWS. Runoff and overspray onto pavement are prohibited at all times. In Stage 3 a heavy-use surcharge of $10.37 per thousand gallons applies to single-family use above 20,000 gallons a month.
SAWS enforces the watering rules through its water-waste program, and a documented violation is handled as a charge on the account rather than a trip to court. The current amounts, and whether a first offence can still be worked off with the online course, are set by SAWS and change – confirm them with SAWS rather than budgeting from a figure quoted on any contractor’s website, this one included. Two things do not change: water waste, including runoff and overspray onto pavement, is prohibited at all times, and washing driveways or sidewalks is banned outright. The heavy-use surcharge on single-family accounts above 20,000 gallons a month belongs to Stage 3, so it is in force now.
Can I establish new sod under Stage 3 watering rules in San Antonio?
One legal watering a week won’t establish new sod through a San Antonio summer. Hand watering any day covers small plantings, and SAWS has a variance process for new landscapes that truly need more. Apply for the variance before you install, and aim for fall, when establishment takes a fraction of the water.
One legal watering a week will not establish new sod in a San Antonio summer. Hand watering any day covers small plantings, and SAWS offers a variance process for new landscapes that genuinely need more. If you are planning an install, apply for the variance first and aim for fall, when establishment takes a fraction of the water.
Most lawns here are Bermuda, zoysia, or St. Augustine, and the calendar follows the heat.
- Spring (Mar to May): green-up. Take a clean first cut, apply pre-emergent early, fertilize only after full green-up, and have the irrigation system checked before summer, including a run-time tune so one weekly cycle actually soaks.
- Summer (Jun to Aug): survival season. Mow high to shade roots, water deep in the pre-dawn window on your day, use the hand hose on hot spots and young trees, and expect some browning; a drought-stressed lawn that recovers beats a fined one.
- Fall (Sep to Nov): the rebuild. Fertilize to restore roots, aerate compacted ground, patch thin areas, and do your planting and design work now.
- Winter (Dec to Feb): mostly dormant. Cut watering to occasional deep soaks, prune, and plan any renovation you want green by May.
How do I set up a yard for once-a-week watering?
Split each zone’s weekly run into two or three shorter cycles, because our shallow, rocky soils shed water downhill before it soaks in. Move beds to drip so they ride the Monday and Friday track. Converting the most stubborn turf to native planting takes it off the schedule entirely, and SAWS WaterSaver coupons often offset part of that.
Cycle-and-soak is essential in our shallow, rocky soils: split each zone’s weekly run into two or three shorter cycles so water goes down instead of downhill. Move beds to drip so they ride the twice-a-week track instead of the once-a-week one. And converting the most stubborn turf to native and adapted planting takes it off the schedule entirely; SAWS WaterSaver coupons and rebates regularly offset part of that work.
One day, two windows, drip on Monday and Friday, hand hose whenever. Know your day, keep water off the pavement, lean on fall for anything new, and design the thirstiest corners out of the yard. A stage only lifts once the aquifer has held above its trigger for fifteen days, so plan on these rules for a while. SAWS says Stage 3 continues until it is announced that Stage 3 has been canceled or that Stage 4 is in effect, and Stage 4 allows landscape watering only once every other week.
If you would like help tuning a controller to Stage 3, adding drip, or planning a lower-water landscape, the San Antonio Pro Landscape Team works with these exact rules every day.
Sources: San Antonio Water System — Stage 3 watering rules, the September 21, 2026 announcement of the return to Stage 3 and the Edwards Aquifer level. Stage confirmed as Stage 3 on October 6, 2026. Drought stages move with the aquifer, and SAWS publishes the active stage daily – check it there before relying on this schedule.
What is the current watering schedule in San Antonio today?
Stage 3 rules apply. Irrigation systems, sprinklers and soaker hoses may run once a week, only on your designated day and only between 5 and 10 a.m. or 9 p.m. and midnight. Drip and tree-bubbler zones run Mondays and Fridays in those hours. Hand-held hoses are allowed any time. San Antonio Pro Landscape works to this schedule.