Jackson enacts emergency ordinance restricting lawn irrigation to protect water for homes and fire suppression

Town Council adopted an emergency ordinance temporarily restricting lawn watering across the town and areas served by the town water system to preserve water for domestic use and fire suppression. The vote to adopt Emergency Ordinance 14-42, including amendments agreed at the meeting, was unanimous and the mayor proclaimed the ordinance effective immediately.

The ordinance responds to a sustained increase in peak nighttime demand that staff traced primarily to irrigation. Town Manager Tyler St. Clair told the council the system serves three functions—household use, fire suppression and irrigation—and that peak demand between midnight and 4 a.m. has repeatedly stressed well and tank capacity this summer. St. Clair said one well has been operating at roughly half capacity, new wells will come online next summer, and staff’s goal with the ordinance is to reduce the overnight peak by about 30–40 percent.

Under the ordinance, active sprinkler irrigation must be reduced by one of three methods depending on the irrigation control installed at the property: (1) odd/even by street address (odd-numbered addresses water on odd calendar dates; even-numbered on even dates); (2) for automated systems that cannot be set by date, watering may be limited to every-other-day; or (3) for systems that use a seasonal-adjustment feature, a 50 percent reduction via that seasonal setting is allowed. The rule applies to automatic sprinkler systems and natural turf areas irrigated by those systems; drip irrigation, hand-watering, container/flowerbed watering and food-production watering are exempt. The ordinance also limits the total watering time for a property to the property’s existing daily run time as of the ordinance effective date (the intent is not to allow users to double run-times in order to water every other day).

Council and staff described enforcement as escalation-focused: the early emphasis will be education, outreach and working with larger water users and landscape contractors to reprogram controllers. The ordinance authorizes enforcement and a civil citation up to $750 per violation day; town staff said enforcement would likely begin with notices and customer contact and that prosecution and fines would be a last resort. Councilmembers and many public commenters said they expected voluntary compliance to be the main pathway to success.

St. Clair and water staff said the town will monitor system flows and storage daily and weekly; if the anticipated reduction in peak demand is not achieved, council can return and consider stricter measures. The ordinance as adopted is scheduled to expire Oct. 31, 2025, but council may repeal it earlier or amend it as conditions change.

Why it matters: Council and staff framed the action as a public-safety measure aimed at preserving firefighting capability and household water service during a period of elevated irrigation demand and limited near-term added well capacity. The council asked staff to run public information campaigns and to work with landscape firms and homeowner associations to implement the change with minimal landscape damage.

What happens next: The town will publish the ordinance and begin an outreach campaign (staff said they would target homeowners, HOAs and landscape professionals). Staff will report back frequently on measured reductions in peak use and recommended next steps.

"This is about maintaining water for life safety and domestic use," Town Manager Tyler St. Clair said during the council discussion. "If we all do our part we can get through the next four to six weeks."