Greensboro Homeowners Can Run Sprinklers Only on Garbage Day Now, and Repeat Violators Face Fines of $100 to $200

Greensboro lawns are on a once-a-week schedule. Since Nov. 3, homeowners on city water can run sprinklers only on their scheduled garbage collection day, and the city began checking for violations on Nov. 9. A first offense brings a warning, a second costs $100, and every one after that costs $200.

The city moved into Stage 2 of its Water Shortage Response Plan after reservoir storage fell to 57.8% of capacity in early November, WGHP reported. The restrictions run for at least 30 days.

Sprinkler Day Is Trash Day

Under Stage 2, manual and automatic sprinklers are both limited to one day a week, the customer’s city garbage pickup day, according to WFMY News 2. Households without city garbage service, or with more than one collection day, are assigned Wednesday.

Gardens are not cut off. Plants, shrubs and trees can still be watered any day with a handheld hose, a watering can or drip irrigation, WFMY reported. That gives homeowners a way to keep newly planted shrubs and young trees alive through a dry stretch without breaking the rule.

Properties that irrigate with well water or another non-city source are treated differently. WGHP reported that they must display a city-issued exemption sign, which the city hands out for free.

What Breaking the Rule Costs

The penalties step up with each offense. For residential customers, the first violation is a warning, the second is $100, and the third and any after it are $200 each, according to WGHP. Businesses and other non-residential customers pay more: $200 for a first offense, $500 for a second and $1,000 for a third. The station said the money goes into a separate fund for future drought conservation.

Institutional customers such as golf courses can be fined without a warning, WFMY reported in a separate story. Golf courses and athletic fields may water only from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. and must cut use by 40% compared with the same billing period over the last 12 months. Nurseries and plant stores can water their stock any time, by any method.

How Greensboro Got Here

The city started with a voluntary request. Stage 1 began on Oct. 14, asking residents to water lawns and shrubs only as needed to keep them alive, skip washing driveways and patios, and hold off on filling pools, the Rhino Times of Greensboro reported. At the time, Lake Townsend was about six feet below its full level and Lake Brandt nearly two feet below.

Storage kept falling. WFMY reported that it stood at 63.2% when voluntary conservation was requested and had dropped to 59.5% by Oct. 26. Stage 2 followed when it reached 57.8%, and WGHP reported that Stage 3 would kick in at 51.3%.

The dry spell began in 2025, and the city is buying water from Burlington, Reidsville and the Piedmont Triad Regional Water Authority under existing agreements, according to the Rhino Times. The paper noted only a little rain on Nov. 5, with no significant rain in the forecast for the following 10 days.

The City Says Supply Is Not in Danger

Water Resources Director Mike Borchers told WFMY the city has enough water to meet customers’ needs, and he thanked residents for cutting back. The goal is to let the reservoirs recharge before spring, the station reported.

Greensboro is not alone in tightening outdoor watering this fall. In Colorado, Aurora has issued hundreds of water fines and ordered lawn sprinklers off until April 30.

Under the city’s plan, a declared stage stays in place for at least 30 days unless conditions force a stricter one sooner, the Rhino Times reported in October. Until Greensboro announces a change, sprinklers stay on the garbage-day schedule.

This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.

Image: TCAtexas – CC BY-SA 3.0/Wikimedia Commons