Arlington Turf
Artificial turf in Arlington, the city with no weekly watering cap
Short answer
Arlington prohibits irrigating lawns and landscaping between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. daily, year round, under Water and Sewer Chapter Section 4.27. That section carries no days-per-week limit, no address schedule and no variance process. A weekly cap reaches Arlington only through its water supplier's drought stages. Turf work is quoted after a site measure.
A daily time ban, but no days-per-week limit in code
Overview
Arlington is the one city in this metro whose watering rules work differently from everyone else's, and the difference is not a technicality. If you moved here from Fort Worth or Dallas, the schedule you learned there does not apply, and the thing you are probably assuming exists does not.
What Section 4.27 actually contains
Arlington's Code of Ordinances, Water and Sewer Chapter, Section 4.27(A) makes it unlawful to irrigate or water lawns or landscaping on premises a person owns, leases or manages between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. The City's own page headlines this as watering nixed 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. year round. Hand watering and soaker hoses are excepted from the time-of-day restriction. Affirmative defenses to prosecution include watering to establish hydromulch, grass sod or grass seed, dust control on sport fields, and maintaining, repairing or testing an irrigation system. The chapter was last amended by Ordinance No. 24-052 on September 17, 2024.
- No irrigation 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., every day, all year
- Hand watering and soaker hoses excepted
- Affirmative defenses exist for establishing new sod and for system testing
The absence that makes Arlington different
We read Section 4.27 in full. It contains no days-per-week limit, no address-based schedule, no variance process and no stated penalty within the section itself. The chapter's ordinance history lists Ordinance 14-026 as providing a 500 dollar penalty for violations other than those in Sections 4.01 and 5.03. Compare that to Fort Worth, which caps watering at two assigned days year round, or Dallas, which caps it at two days with a seasonal day assignment. Arlington's weekly limit is not in city code at all.
- No days-per-week cap in Section 4.27
- No address assignment
- No variance process stated in the section
Where the weekly cap comes from instead
Arlington is a direct Tarrant Regional Water District customer, and the district's plan is where a days-per-week restriction originates. TRWD measures combined raw water supply across the Bridgeport, Eagle Mountain, Richland-Chambers and Cedar Creek reservoirs. Stage 1, Water Watch, begins below 75 percent of conservation storage and caps outdoor watering at twice per week, with Monday a system recovery day, Tuesday and Friday for non-residential sites, Wednesday and Saturday for even-numbered addresses and Thursday and Sunday for odd. Stage 2 begins below 60 percent and drops to once per week. Stage 3 begins below 45 percent and prohibits hose-end sprinklers and automatic systems entirely, including parks, golf courses and sports fields.
- Stage 1: below 75 percent, twice per week
- Stage 2: below 60 percent, once per week
- Stage 3: below 45 percent, sprinklers and automatic systems prohibited
Irrigation sensors, and the turf question
Section 4.27(C) requires irrigation systems installed on or after January 1, 2007 to have rain and freeze sensors in number and type established by the Director of Utilities. The pre-2007 retrofit requirement does not apply to single-family residential or duplex properties, or to individually metered townhome and condominium units. Knowing or reckless violations are unlawful under 4.27(C)(3). On turf itself, no artificial turf restriction was located in Arlington's commercial landscaping rapid reference guide or its irrigation chapter. We did not reach the Unified Development Code residential landscape sections, so that negative is scoped to the documents we read. Arlington's landscape irrigation program runs through the Planning and Development One Start Development Center. All sources read November 8, 2026.
Answers
Frequently asked questions
Still stuck? Call (817) 809-9236 and talk to someone who does this every day.
How many days a week can I water in Arlington?
City code does not say. Section 4.27 contains no days-per-week limit. The only standing city restriction is the 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily ban. A weekly cap applies only when Tarrant Regional Water District enters a drought stage.
Does Arlington restrict artificial turf?
No provision was located in its commercial landscaping guidance or its irrigation chapter. The Unified Development Code residential landscape sections were not reached, so confirm with the City at 817-459-5343 rather than treating this as settled.
Can I hand water at midday?
Hand watering and soaker hoses are excepted from the time-of-day restriction in Section 4.27. Irrigation systems and sprinklers are not.
Do I need rain and freeze sensors?
Systems installed on or after January 1, 2007 must have them. The earlier retrofit requirement does not apply to single-family residential, duplexes, or individually metered townhome and condominium units.
What does turf cost in Arlington?
We quote after a site measure. Base depth and drainage route drive the installed total more than the turf product does.
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