Water conservation stages.
Huntsville Code of Ordinances § 26-675
in effectSec. 26-675. - Water conservation stages.
(a) No customer of or person who uses water from the City of Huntsville dba Huntsville Utilities shall knowingly make, cause, use or permit the use of water received from the city for residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, governmental or any other purpose in a manner contrary to any provision of this division, or in an amount in excess of that use permitted by the conservation stage in effect pursuant to action taken by the general manager of Huntsville Utilities, or his designate, in accordance with the provisions of this division.
(b) The general manager of Huntsville Utilities, or his designate, shall promulgate guidelines which shall set forth the criteria for determining when a particular conservation stage is to be implemented and terminated. Such guidelines shall be updated when, in the opinion of the general manager of Huntsville Utilities, or his designate, the conditions of the utility system have changed so as to necessitate such update.
(1) Stage I, voluntary conservation. Customers of or persons who use the water utility of the City of Huntsville dba Huntsville Utilities are requested to voluntarily limit the amount of water to the amount absolutely necessary for health, business and outdoor use.
(2) Stage II, mandatory compliance, water alert. Upon implementation by the general manager of Huntsville Utilities, or his designate, and publication of notice, the following restrictions shall apply to all customers of or persons who use the water utility of the City of Huntsville dba Huntsville Utilities: Irrigation utilizing individual sprinklers from hoses, or buried sprinkler systems for the purpose of watering lawns, gardens, landscaped areas, trees, shrubs and other plants is prohibited except on designated water use days, which shall be as follows: Odd-numbered street addresses will water on odd days of the month, and even-numbered street addresses will water on even days of the month. This restriction shall not apply to commercial nurseries; however, commercial nurseries should restrict water use to that which is absolutely necessary. There is further exempt from the restriction any hand-held garden hose or small hand-held watering container which may be used on any day to water small areas that might need more frequent watering.
(3) Stage III, mandatory compliance, water warning. Upon implementation by the general manager of Huntsville Utilities or his designate and publication of notice, the following restrictions shall apply to all customers of or persons who use the water utility of the City of Huntsville dba Huntsville Utilities: Irrigation utilizing individual sprinklers from hoses, or buried sprinkler systems for the purpose of watering lawns, gardens, landscaped areas, trees, shrubs and other plants is prohibited except on designated water use days, which shall be as follows: Users of water at street addresses containing odd numbers will water on either Saturday or Sunday and Wednesday or Thursday when such date is on an odd calendar month number, and users of water at street addresses containing even numbers will water on either Saturday or Sunday and Wednesday or Thursday when such date is on an even calendar month number, it being the intent to have four designated outdoor watering days per week and to allow each user of water to water two times each week. During Stage III, mandatory compliance, water warning, the following additional restrictions shall apply:
a. On the Saturday/Sunday and Wednesday/Thursday watering days, no watering may be done between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. Hand-held garden hoses or small hand-held watering containers may be used on any day except during the hours of 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
b. Washing of private vehicles is prohibited except on the Saturday/Sunday and Wednesday/Thursday odd/even basis. No private vehicles may be washed between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. Commercial car washes and service stations are exempt from this restriction.
c. Swimming pools will be filled only on the Saturday/Sunday and Wednesday/Thursday odd/even basis. There shall be no filling between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.
d. Washing of sidewalks, streets, driveways, parking areas, tennis courts, patios or other paved areas is absolutely prohibited except by the department of public works services and the fire department to alleviate health or fire hazard.
e. Placing sprinklers which spray a significant amount of water in the street is prohibited.
f. Taking water from a fire hydrant is prohibited unless the person taking the water from the fire hydrant has a permit from the water department for an expressed purpose and date that hydrant may be used, signed by an authorized utility representative. Utility crews, public works services department and fire department are exempt from this condition in order to properly maintain the water system and provide for public health and safety.
The Saturday/Sunday and Wednesday/Thursday restriction does not apply to commercial nurseries. However, commercial nurseries should restrict water use to what is absolutely necessary.
(4) Stage IV, mandatory compliance, water emergency. Upon implementation by the general manager or his designate and publication of notice, the following restriction shall apply to all customers of or persons who use the water utility of the City of Huntsville dba Huntsville Utilities: During stage IV, mandatory compliance, water emergency, no outside irrigation utilizing individual sprinklers from hoses or buried sprinkler systems for the purpose of watering lawns, gardens, landscaped areas, trees, shrubs and other plants is permitted. Also prohibited are the following:
a. The washing of private vehicles is prohibited except at commercial car washes or service stations.
b. The use of water from fire hydrants for any reason other than use by utility crews, department of public works, and the fire department to maintain the water system and quality is prohibited.
c. Stage IV, water emergency temporarily voids any standing fire hydrant use permits until the emergency has passed.
d. Washing of sidewalks, streets, driveways, parking areas, tennis courts, patios or other paved areas is absolutely prohibited except by the public works services department and the fire department to alleviate health or fire hazard.
e. The filling of swimming pools is prohibited during the water emergency.
(Ord. No. 87-326, § 5, 8-13-1987)
Source: City of Huntsville, Alabama, publisher code (Municode) + enacted ordinances (City Council/Legistar)URL: https://library.municode.com/al/huntsville/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_CH26UT_ARTIVWASE_DIV7WACOPL_S26-675WACOSTFetched: 11/6/2026