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Section · Lawns, watering days, purple pipe
Sprinklers, purple pipe and the dry months ahead
Seminole County watering days drop to once a week on Sunday, November 1, 2026. This section covers the schedule, reclaimed water and the backflow preventer on your irrigation line.
In this section
Which days you can run the sprinklers, and for how long
Seminole County watering restrictions follow the water management district: twice a week until November 1, 2026, then once a week, never between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Confirm on the county or district page.
Purple pipe in the yard: living with reclaimed water
Reclaimed water irrigation uses highly treated wastewater for lawns and gardens through its own lavender pipes. It's never for drinking, pools or the house, and it has its own watering days.
The little brass valve that guards the water main
An irrigation backflow preventer stops sprinkler water from flowing back into the public supply. Seminole County requires yearly testing and a repair within 20 days of a failed test.
This time of year the sprinkler clock is due for its fall change. As of October 2026, the St. Johns River Water Management District and Seminole County allow lawn watering twice a week until the clocks fall back, then once a week from Sunday, November 1, 2026 until the second Sunday in March. Then come March, April and May, the dry months this section is named for.
The schedule, and how to check it
Our watering days story lays out the odd and even address days for both seasons, the 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ban, the 3/4-inch and one-hour limits per zone, and the exceptions for new sod, drip lines and hand watering. Seminole's rules cover private wells as well as utility water. Rules can change in a shortage, so treat our dates as a snapshot and confirm on the district's and the county's own pages before you reset the controller.
One thing worth knowing now: the district's Phase III water shortage order from May 2026 covers counties to the north and west, not Seminole or Orange. Normal rules apply here.
Purple pipe and the box by the meter
A number of Seminole County neighborhoods water their lawns with reclaimed water, the highly treated wastewater that runs in its own lavender pipes. It has different days (twice a week year round for Seminole County customers, three for Sanford's) and firm rules about what it can never touch. Our reclaimed water story explains how to hook up, what's safe to water and why it never goes in a pool or the house.
Seminole County requires a backflow assembly on the customer's side of every water meter it serves, to keep yard and house water from flowing back into the public supply, and wants it tested every year. Our backflow preventers story covers the types, the testing and the 20-day repair window after a failed test.