HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. – Hillsborough County residents will have to keep their lawn sprinklers turned off for most of the week through the rest of the summer. On Tuesday, officials announced that the Southwest Florida Water Management District is extending its Modified Phase III “extreme” water shortage restrictions until Oct. 1, 2026.
Scattered summer rain showers have simply not been enough to break the prolonged drought gripping the Tampa Bay region.
The deep environmental deficit began during a dry 2025 rainy season, leaving the region 13.7 inches behind its average 12-month rainfall total. The dry trend has stretched directly into this year, with May 2026 alone logging an 11.4-inch rainfall deficit. Because of the lack of steady rain, local water resources like rivers and lakes have continued to dry up, dropping to severely low levels.
Under the extended rules, outdoor lawn irrigation is strictly limited to one day per week. Property owners are only allowed to water during two specific time frames: between 12:01 a.m. and 4 a.m., or between 8 p.m. and 11:59 p.m.
If a property is smaller than one acre, the owner must pick just one of those windows, not both. Hand watering and microirrigation are limited to before 8 a.m. or after 6 p.m.
The emergency order also hits several other everyday water uses. Homeowners are completely banned from pressure washing their property for routine aesthetic reasons. Decorative fountains and water features may run for up to 4 hours per day and must either recycle their water, use only reclaimed water, or provide a necessary water-quality benefit.
An individual’s designated watering day depends entirely on the last digit of their house number. Addresses ending in 0 or 1 can water only on Mondays.
Homes ending in 2 or 3 water on Tuesdays, while numbers ending in 4 or 5 are assigned to Wednesdays. Thursdays are reserved for addresses ending in 6 or 7, and numbers ending in 8 or 9 water on Fridays. Neighborhood common areas, locations without a clear street address, and mixed-address properties like office complexes and shopping centers are also required to water only on Fridays.
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