5 More Hours of Watering for San Antonio

Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images

A warning sign along the shore of the dried O.C. Fisher Lake this summer in San Angelo, Texas.

If you’re a resident of San Antonio, you have a little more time to water your lawn starting tomorrow.

The San Antonio Water System announced today that the city will be moving to Stage 1 watering restrictions. It had been in Stage 2 since May 31.

The change doesn’t amount to much, as residents are still only allowed to water with sprinklers or irrigation one day a week. But under the Stage 2 restrictions, you could only water from 3 a.m. until 8 a.m. and from 8 p.m. until 10 p.m. With Stage 1, those hours are extended a little, from 12 a.m. to 8 a.m. and from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. one day a week. No sprinkler or irrigation watering is allowed between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. So if you’re a night owl or early bird, you now have five more hours to water your lawn in San Antonio.

“While we are still under Stage One restrictions, the weather is cooler and wetter, so there’s not much need for outdoor watering right now anyway,” Chuck Ahrens, SAWS Vice President of Water Resources and Conservation said in a release announcing the change. “However, weather predictions show that dry weather is expected to continue, so we suggest that San Antonians continue their water-saving habits in the event the Edwards Aquifer falls back to Stage Two.”

The drought in Texas is far from over. Thirty-two percent of the state is still in “exceptional drought,” the highest level, and resevoirs, aquifers and lakes are a long ways away from being at “normal” levels.