Baltimore water restrictions are currently voluntary. As of May 2026, the city’s Department of Public Works has asked every customer on its system to cut back on outdoor water use while Maryland sits in a drought warning following three years of below-average rainfall.1Maryland Department of the Environment. Maryland Department of the Environment Issues Drought Warning for Large Areas of the State Due to Persistent Rainfall Deficits No one is being fined right now. But if conditions worsen and the DPW Director issues a mandatory order, the same acts you’re being asked to stop become misdemeanors carrying fines of up to $1,000 for every day the violation continues.
What DPW Is Asking You to Stop Doing Now
Under the current voluntary guidance, DPW has specifically asked residents to hold off on three things: filling swimming pools, washing cars at home, and watering lawns. The broader conservation list from DPW and the Maryland Department of the Environment adds skipping sidewalk and driveway hosing, running dishwashers and washing machines only with full loads, and fixing leaky faucets, hoses, and running toilets.
None of this is enforceable yet. The point of complying now is twofold: it helps delay a mandatory order, and it builds habits that won’t cost you money if the warning escalates to an emergency.
What Becomes Illegal if Restrictions Go Mandatory
If the state moves to a drought emergency, Maryland’s Level One mandatory restrictions take effect and carry legal force. The specific bans are narrower and more precise than most people expect.2Maryland Department of the Environment. Level One Mandatory Water Use Restrictions
Watering grass with sprinklers or automatic irrigation is banned. You can still water gardens, trees, and shrubs by hand or with a hose that has an automatic shut-off nozzle. New sod and freshly seeded lawns can be watered at the minimum rate needed to establish the grass.
Washing paved surfaces — sidewalks, driveways, patios, parking areas — is prohibited unless it’s the minimum amount needed for sanitation or public health, such as cleaning an outdoor dining area. Hosing down a dusty driveway doesn’t qualify.
Non-commercial vehicle washing is banned entirely. No cars, trucks, boats, or trailers at home. Commercial car washes with a water conservation plan on file can keep operating, which makes them the only legal option.
Ornamental fountains, artificial waterfalls, misting machines, and reflecting pools have to be shut off unless they continuously recycle their water. Restaurants cannot serve tap water unless a customer asks for it.
What’s Exempt
Agricultural irrigation for food production, livestock, and nursery stock is exempt from the sprinkler ban. Drip irrigation can continue regardless of use. Commercial nurseries with an approved conservation plan may keep watering stock, and arboretums or public gardens of national or state significance may use the minimum water needed to preserve specimens.
Swimming Pools
Right now DPW is asking you not to fill a pool. Whether pool filling becomes a formal ban during a mandatory stage depends on the terms of the order the Director issues. The authority under Article 24 is broad enough to prohibit it.
Whether the Rules Apply to You
Baltimore’s water system reaches well past the city line. It serves customers in Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and parts of Anne Arundel, Carroll, Harford, and Howard counties.3Baltimore County Government. Baltimore Regional Water Governance Model Workgroup What determines whether DPW restrictions apply to you is where your water comes from, not your mailing address. If your home or business connects to a Baltimore City water main, the rules apply, even if you live in Harford County.
Who Can Order Restrictions, and How
Under Article 24, Section 1-6 of the Baltimore City Code, the Director of Public Works can issue an order limiting or temporarily prohibiting water use whenever conditions require it. The Director decides which users the order covers — residential, commercial, industrial — and which specific uses are restricted.4City of Baltimore. Baltimore City Code Article 24 Water – Section: 1-6 Suspension, etc., of Certain Uses
The Director doesn’t need to wait for the state. A local problem like a major water main break can independently justify an order on short notice.
Penalties for Violating a Mandatory Order
Once the Director issues a mandatory order, violating it is illegal under Article 24, Section 21-2. The city can enforce in two ways: environmental citations through the Environmental Control Board, or criminal prosecution.5City of Baltimore. Baltimore City Code Article 24 Water – Section: 21-11 Enforcement by Citation
Criminal violation is a misdemeanor. Conviction carries a fine of up to $1,000 per offense, and each day the violation continues counts as a separate offense. A week of illegal lawn watering could theoretically produce $7,000 in fines.6City of Baltimore. Baltimore City Code Article 24 Water – Section: 21-12 Criminal Penalties
Environmental citations are the more common path for residential violations and go through the ECB rather than criminal court. The code also allows the city to pursue civil remedies on top of a citation or criminal charge.
How to Contest a Citation
If you get an environmental citation for a water restriction violation, you can challenge it before the Environmental Control Board. An Administrative Hearing Officer conducts the hearing. You request one by submitting a written contest by postal mail, email, or fax.7Baltimore City. Environmental Control Board
A separate process applies to water billing disputes, which are not restriction violations. Those go first through the Water Advocacy and Customer Appeals office before the ECB will hear them, with a route to Circuit Court on the final determination.8Baltimore City Department of Public Works. Regulations on Customer Service and Support for Water, Wastewater, and Storm Water Billing
Reporting and Service Issues
Baltimore residents can report water main breaks and other emergencies by calling 311. Customers in surrounding counties served by the Baltimore system should contact their local utility office for service-related issues.