Watering under restrictions

Water rules exist in every Australian city, and they change with dam levels, seasons and drought. Some places have permanent rules that always apply; restrictions add to them when supplies drop. Because the rules change, this guide doesn’t state them. Check your water authority’s current rules before you water or set an irrigation timer, then use the rest of this guide to make every allowed watering count.

Permanent rules and restrictions

Permanent rules (called water wise rules, water-saving rules or permanent water conservation measures, depending on the city) always apply. They typically:

• limit the hours when sprinklers and automatic systems can run to the cooler parts of the day;
• allow hand watering with a hose fitted with a trigger nozzle, a watering can or a bucket more freely;
• ban leaving hoses running unattended, and watering that runs off onto paths and roads.

Restrictions are extra limits added when water storage falls. They can reduce watering to fewer days, shorter hours, or hand watering only. They’re lifted again when supplies recover.

Some areas also run rosters. Perth, for example, has a two-day sprinkler roster based on your address, and a winter sprinkler switch-off.

Where to check the rules

Regional towns often have their own water authority or council supply. If yours isn’t listed, check your water bill for the supplier’s name.

Before restrictions start

If your area is heading into a dry spell, a few things help the lawn cope:

• Raise the mowing height a notch. Longer leaves shade the soil and roots.
• Fix sprinkler coverage now, with a catch-cup test, so every litre goes where it’s needed.
• Deal with water-repellent soil before it dries out completely.
• Core aerate compacted areas so water soaks in rather than running off.
• Hold off on renovation such as scarifying, which needs water to recover.
• Set up a rain gauge so you know what rain has actually fallen.

Make every drop count

Water deeply, less often, and early. On your allowed days, apply a good soaking early in the morning rather than several light sprinkles. Less is lost to evaporation and wind in the morning, and deep watering keeps roots growing down.

Know what your sprinklers deliver. A catch-cup test shows how many millimetres each zone applies and whether some areas miss out. Fix uneven coverage so you’re not overwatering most of the lawn to reach a dry corner.

Get water into the soil. If water runs off or beads on dry patches, the soil may be water-repellent. A wetting agent, at the label rate and watered in, helps water soak in. Core aerate compacted areas.

Split runs on clay and slopes. Two or three short cycles with a break between them let water soak in. Many controllers have a cycle-and-soak setting.

Mow higher. Longer grass shades the soil and copes better with heat and dry spells. Never take off more than a third of the leaf at once.

Go easy on fertiliser. Feeding pushes growth that needs more water. A light feed at the label rate is enough while water is short.

Prioritise. If water is limited, water the lawn areas that matter most, such as where children play, and let others brown off.

Use your controller well. A rain delay or rain sensor stops the system watering after rain, and a seasonal adjustment trims every zone at once as the weather changes.

Hand watering

Hand watering with a trigger nozzle is often allowed more freely than sprinklers. Use it to:

• top up dry spots that sprinklers miss;
• water newly repaired patches;
• give shaded areas under trees a little extra, where roots compete for water.

Hand watering a whole lawn is slow and rarely even, so treat it as a top-up, not the main watering.

Where to put the water first

When water is short, not every part of the yard deserves the same share. A simple order of priority:

1. New turf, seed and repaired patches. They have shallow roots and can’t survive a long gap. Check whether you need an exemption to water them.
2. Lawn that gets heavy use, such as where children play or the dog runs. Worn, dry grass thins quickly and lets weeds in.
3. Lawn in full sun on sandy soil. It dries out fastest.
4. Shaded lawn, which loses less water to evaporation, although tree roots compete for what you apply.
5. Low-use areas, such as the nature strip or a side path, which can be left to brown off and recover later.

Garden beds, fruit trees and veggie patches compete for the same water, and many people put them ahead of the lawn. That’s a sensible choice: an established warm-season lawn usually recovers from a dry spell, while a dead shrub doesn’t.

Sun, shade and slopes

Full sun loses the most water. If you can only water some of the lawn, sunny areas will show stress first.

Shade under trees is tricky. Less water evaporates, but tree roots take a lot of what you apply. A slow, deep soak suits it better than frequent sprinkles.

Slopes shed water before it soaks in. Water the top of a slope in short cycles and let gravity carry some moisture down. A wetting agent helps water stay where it lands.

Narrow strips next to paths and walls heat up fast. Strip nozzles or hand watering waste less than full-circle sprinklers here.

Does it need water, or is it resting?

Not every brown or dull lawn needs water. Before you use your allowance, check:

• Needs water: leaves fold or turn bluish-grey, footprints stay flat, and a screwdriver won’t push into the soil.
• Resting: the lawn is evenly straw-coloured in a long dry spell, but runners are firm and roots hold.
• Something else: brown patches with soft, rootless grass that lifts like carpet suggest lawn grubs; patches with a ring or spots on the leaves may be disease.

If the soil a few centimetres down is still moist, hold off. Watering on a schedule regardless of conditions wastes the water you’re allowed.

A checklist for a dry season

• Read your water authority’s current rules and note your allowed days and times.
• Set your controller to match, with a rain delay or rain sensor on.
• Do a catch-cup test on each zone and fix any dry spots.
• Raise the mowing height and keep blades sharp.
• Apply a wetting agent to water-repellent areas, at the label rate.
• Put off renovation and heavy feeding until water is easier to come by.
• Check the lawn with a screwdriver before each watering.
• Log what you apply in your Lawn Journal.

Common mistakes

• Watering little and often, which keeps roots shallow and loses more water to evaporation.
• Watering in the heat of the day, when much of the water evaporates before it reaches the roots.
• Letting sprinklers hit paths and roads. Many water rules prohibit run-off, and it’s wasted water.
• Feeding heavily before or during a dry spell, which pushes growth the lawn can’t support.
• Assuming brown means dead and replacing a lawn that would have recovered.

New lawns under restrictions

New turf and seed need frequent watering for several weeks. If restrictions or a roster would stop you watering often enough, ask your water authority about exemptions before you buy turf. Water Corporation, for example, grants exemptions to water new lawns outside the roster: up to 42 days in spring and summer and up to 35 days in autumn and winter, applied for on the day the lawn goes in. Otherwise, consider waiting until restrictions ease or the cooler months, when new turf needs less water.

Brown isn’t always dead

Warm-season grasses such as buffalo, couch, kikuyu and zoysia can brown off in a long dry spell and recover when water returns. A lawn that was watered deeply and mown high before restrictions is much more likely to bounce back.

To check, tug a handful of brown grass. If the runners and roots are firm and stay put, the lawn is dormant and will usually recover. If it pulls away easily with no roots, look for lawn grubs, which eat roots and cause similar browning.

When water returns:

1. Water deeply but don’t flood the lawn.
2. Use a wetting agent first if the soil has turned water-repellent.
3. Wait until the lawn is growing again before feeding it.
4. Repair any truly dead patches once it has recovered.

Rainwater, greywater and bores

Rainwater tanks, bores and greywater can help, but rules differ by state, council and water authority, and greywater has health and plumbing requirements. Bore water may have its own roster. Check your local rules before using them on the lawn, and read the rainwater tanks and greywater guide.

Track it

Log each watering in your Lawn Journal, with the zone and run time. When restrictions change, you can see what the lawn has been getting and adjust with confidence.