In Fresno, your watering days are set by the last digit of your street address. Odd addresses water Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays; even addresses water Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. That three-day schedule runs April 1 through October 31. From November 1 through March 31 the city drops to one day a week: Saturdays for odd addresses, Sundays for even. No outdoor watering is ever allowed on Mondays, and none is allowed between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on any day.1City of Fresno. Three-Day Watering Schedule Begins April 1
The “last digit” is the final number of your street address itself, not any apartment or unit number.
Summer Schedule: April 1 Through October 31
During the warm months, residents water three days a week based on address:
- Odd-numbered addresses ending in 1, 3, 5, 7, or 9: Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
- Even-numbered addresses ending in 0, 2, 4, 6, or 8: Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.
Mondays are off-limits for everyone.2City of Fresno. Outdoor Water Use Schedule
Winter Schedule: November 1 Through March 31
From November through March, the schedule drops to a single assigned day:
- Odd-numbered addresses: Saturdays only.
- Even-numbered addresses: Sundays only.
No outdoor watering is allowed Monday through Friday during this period.3City of Fresno. Annual Outdoor Water Use Schedule The winter rule is not “any one day you choose.” The day is assigned. Watering on a Friday because it fits your routine will still count as a violation if your address is odd.
What Hours You Can Water
On your assigned day, outdoor irrigation is prohibited between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. That leaves the window from 6:00 p.m. through 10:00 a.m. the next morning.2City of Fresno. Outdoor Water Use Schedule The midday ban exists because Fresno summer temperatures routinely exceed 100°F and much of the sprinkler water evaporates before it reaches the soil. Early morning watering, finishing before sunrise, gives the best absorption.
Other Activities That Count as Water Waste
Fresno Municipal Code Section 6-520 defines water waste separately from the schedule, so these are prohibited even on your assigned day:
- Irrigation runoff onto the street, sidewalk, or gutter.
- Washing a vehicle with a hose that has no shut-off nozzle. A bucket is fine, and a hose with a shut-off nozzle for rinsing is fine; a hose running freely is not.4City of Fresno. City of Fresno Municipal Code – Water Conservation Provisions
- Hosing down sidewalks, driveways, patios, or parking areas. The code allows it only when you divert the runoff to landscape irrigation rather than letting it flow into the street.4City of Fresno. City of Fresno Municipal Code – Water Conservation Provisions
The Water Conservation Program handles these violations, not the police, and staff responds to every report received.5City of Fresno. Report Leak/Water Waste
Fines for Watering on the Wrong Day
Fresno’s fine structure escalates by month within a calendar year, under the Public Utilities Master Fee Schedule:
- First month with an incident: written notice, no fine.
- Second month with an incident: $25.
- Third month with an incident: $50.
- Fourth month with an incident: $100.
- Each additional month through the end of the year: $100 per incident.
Fines appear on your utility bill rather than as a separate invoice.6City of Fresno. Master Fee Schedule – Public Utilities The escalation resets at the end of the calendar year, so a first incident in January and a second in December means the December incident lands at the $25 tier, not a fresh notice.
Most residents never see anything beyond the courtesy notice. The people who rack up real money are the ones with a broken sprinkler timer cycling on the wrong day every week. If enforcement contacts you, fixing the underlying problem the same week is the difference between one notice and a run of monthly fines.
How to Appeal a Citation
If a citation was issued in error, you have 30 days from the date of the utility bill that includes the fine to start an appeal. The process runs in three stages:
- Staff review. Contact the Water Conservation Program to dispute the incident with the staff member who initiated enforcement. You have 10 business days to submit evidence, such as proof of a leak. The Water Conservation Supervisor issues a written decision within 15 business days.
- Director review. If you disagree, escalate to the Director of Public Utilities within 10 business days. The Director reviews the appeal and prior evidence and provides a written decision within 30 days.
- Administrative hearing. If you still disagree, the final option is an appeal to the city’s Administrative Hearing Officer, whose decision is final.7City of Fresno. Water Conservation Appeal
The appeals that tend to succeed involve evidence of a leak the homeowner didn’t know about or a documented sprinkler timer malfunction. Photograph any repairs the day you make them; that evidence is far more useful submitted within 10 days than reconstructed later.
When You Need to Water Outside the Schedule
The city issues Short-Term Exemption Permits for a few situations. You must apply at least two business days before you plan to water outside the normal schedule.
Newly planted lawns need daily watering to establish roots. The exemption allows more frequent watering for up to 30 days, and your application must include the specific modified watering plan you intend to follow. It covers new lawn installation only. Over-seeding an existing lawn does not qualify.8City of Fresno. Exemption Requests Once approved, the permit lists exact dates, giving you documentation if a conservation officer sees you watering off-schedule.
Pool fills and drains also require an exemption. You cannot drain an existing swimming pool more than once every three years unless the drain is required for structural repairs or public health standards, and you must provide supporting documentation. A separate exemption covers filling a newly constructed or refurbished pool.8City of Fresno. Exemption Requests The three-year rule catches many homeowners off guard, particularly when buying a property with a pool that needs service. Factor the timeline in before closing.
If You Live in Clovis or Unincorporated Fresno County
The schedule above applies to properties inside the City of Fresno. Clovis maintains its own watering schedule, enforced separately. As of the most recent published schedule, Clovis mirrors Fresno’s structure: odd addresses on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from April through October and Saturdays only from November through March; even addresses on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays or Sundays only in winter. Mondays are off in summer, and Monday through Friday are off in winter. Clovis also requires automatic shut-off nozzles on any hose used outdoors.9City of Clovis. Water
Residents in unincorporated Fresno County, including the “county islands” surrounded by city land, fall under county jurisdiction rather than either city’s rules. If you are not sure which applies, check your utility bill or property tax statement for “County of Fresno” versus “City of Fresno” or “City of Clovis.” Each entity sets its own fines and enforcement priorities independently.