Watering your lawn? Wait for your day. Region’s water conservation bylaw in effect
Posted Jun 1, 2026 04:21:08 AM.
Last Updated Jun 1, 2026 05:59:41 AM.
If you need to water your lawn or wash your car, between now and the end of September, you’ll have to wait for your assigned watering day.
The Region of Waterloo’s annual water conservation bylaw is now in effect.
It runs from May 31 to September 30, and restricts homeowners on certain water consumption practices to specific days.
For watering your lawn, you can only do so on weekdays, based on the last number in your address:
- 0 or 1 water lawns on Monday
- 2 or 3 water lawns on Tuesday
- 4 or 5 water lawns on Wednesday
- 6 or 7 water lawns on Thursday
- 8 or 9 water lawns on Friday
For smaller outdoor jobs that still require using municipal water, like watering a garden, you can do so every second day, and that’s also based on the last number in your address: odd numbers mean you can use water on odd-numbered days, and even numbers mean even-numbered days.
And for all watering needs, regardless of the day, the bylaw requires you to only use water for any of those jobs between either 5:30 to 10 a.m. and/or 7 to 11 p.m.
Also between May 31 to September 30, the Region said a temporary permit is required for extra lawn watering days to seed your lawn, lay new sod or apply nematodes.
The Region asks all homeowners and landscapers to hold off on laying sod or planting new seed until the fall or next spring.
A statement about the bylaw said the Waterloo Region community has cut back on the typical summer water use increase by 50 per cent, and the region has one of the lowest water usage rates in the country per capita.
Your Community
