SAWS watering days: when can I water my lawn in San Antonio?

If you’re on SAWS water, the last digit of your street address sets your one sprinkler day a week during drought stages 1 through 3. In Stages 2 and 3, sprinklers can run only from 5 to 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. to midnight on that day. A hand-held hose is allowed any day, at any time.

SAWS went back to Stage 3 on Sept. 21, 2026. The stage can change with the aquifer, so check the top of saws.org before you set your timer.

Find your watering day

SAWS watering day by the last digit of your street address, drought stages 1 through 3

Last digit of your address	Your sprinkler day
0 or 1	Monday
2 or 3	Tuesday
4 or 5	Wednesday
6 or 7	Thursday
8 or 9	Friday
Saturday and Sunday	No sprinkler watering
Drip and tree bubblers	Stage 1: Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Stages 2 and 3: Monday and Friday. Stage 4: Friday. Same hours as sprinklers.

From the SAWS watering day chart and the stage pages for Stage 1, Stage 3 and Stage 4.

Sprinkler hours for each stage

Stage	How often sprinklers can run	Sprinkler hours
No drought stage	Any day	Midnight to 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. to midnight
Stage 1	Once a week, on your day	Midnight to 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. to midnight
Stage 2	Once a week, on your day	5 to 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. to midnight
Stage 3	Once a week, on your day	5 to 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. to midnight
Stage 4	Once every other week, on your day	5 to 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. to midnight

From SAWS: drought rules, year-round rules and Stage 4.

Your day runs midnight to midnight, and overnight watering is not allowed, so a 9 p.m. start has to be done by midnight.

Stage 3 adds one thing. Single-family homes that use more than 20,000 gallons in a month pay a surcharge of $10.37 per thousand gallons. SAWS says fewer than 2% of residential customers use that much.

How SAWS sets the stage

It goes by the Edwards Aquifer. Stage 1 starts when the 10-day average aquifer level at the monitored well drops to 660 feet above mean sea level, Stage 2 at 650 and Stage 3 at 640. Stage 4 is called by the city manager with the SAWS president. SAWS can consider ending a stage 15 days after the aquifer climbs back above its trigger.

What’s always allowed, and what never is

A hand-held hose is allowed any day, at any time, in every stage (Stage 1, 2, 3, 4). In Stage 1 a bucket or watering can is fine any time too.

Water waste is never allowed. That means water running into the gutter, ditch or drain, or a leak you don’t fix, and overspray and runoff from lawn watering.

One rule people miss: every in-ground sprinkler system in San Antonio needs a rain sensor that shuts it off after enough rain.

What happens if you water on the wrong day

SAWS no longer issues municipal court citations for this. Instead, a water waste non-compliance charge shows up on your bill: $137 the first time for a single-family home, and more for repeat violations. You can get the first charge waived by taking a one-hour online course. A violation has to be witnessed and documented in person by SAWS-trained staff, and you can ask to see the evidence and appeal.

How much to water on your day

SAWS says to water your lawn once a week so it grows deep roots. Its rule of thumb for summer is about three-quarters of an inch a week for St. Augustine or Zoysia in full sun, half an inch for those grasses in shade, and half an inch for Bermuda or buffalo grass. In fall, winter and spring, cut that back or skip it, depending on the weather.

To find your run time, SAWS says to set out a few shallow, straight-sided containers like tuna cans, run the sprinklers for 20 minutes, and measure the water. If you catch a quarter inch in 20 minutes, three-quarters of an inch takes about an hour.

Water early. AgriLife says early morning is the best time: less water is lost to evaporation, and the leaves don’t stay wet for hours, which can lead to fungus. In Stages 2 and 3, that means the 5 to 10 a.m. window.

Water when the lawn asks. Footprints that stay in the grass after you walk on it, wilting leaves or a blue-gray color are signs it’s thirsty.

Hand water a dry spot. SAWS says a home sprinkler system uses 1,500 to 3,000 gallons each time it runs, so a hose is the cheaper fix for one brown spot.

Not everyone in San Antonio is on SAWS

Check who sends your water bill. A few cities inside San Antonio run their own water, including two where we mow.

Alamo Heights gets its water from the city’s own four wells and sets its own watering stages. When we checked in late September 2026, the city was in Stage 3, with sprinklers once every other week, 7 to 11 a.m. and 7 to 11 p.m. on your day.

Shavano Park is split. The original neighborhoods get city water, while Shavano Creek, Bentley Manor, Willow Wood, Huntington and the commercial areas are on SAWS.

If your bill doesn’t come from SAWS, follow your city’s rules instead of the chart above.

Watering handled? Type your address on our site to see your mowing price. And if the lawn takes off after a good rain, here’s why.