Why Jacksonville Beach's Sprinkler Schedule Won't Change When the Clocks Fall Back

When the clocks go back an hour this Sunday, November 1, what happens to your sprinkler timer? In a normal year, that Sunday is when Northeast Florida irrigation drops from two days a week to one. Most people learn this the way you learn about a parking rule, from a neighbor or a utility bill insert.

This year, nothing changes on November 1. Drought declarations have kept the area on the one-day winter schedule since at least March. The current declaration has no expiration date, so the schedule won't loosen when the clocks spring forward next March, either. It loosens when the rain comes back.

The Schedule That Started in Spring and Never Lifted

By March 13, 2026, JEA was telling its customers that the once-a-week irrigation schedule would continue under the Phase II water shortage declaration in effect at the time. In May, the St. Johns River Water Management District raised the region to the next level and announced a Phase III Extreme Water Shortage on May 13, 2026. The order behind it, Water Shortage Order 2026-017, replaced the earlier Modified Phase II order. It covers all of Duval County, plus all of Clay, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns counties. The City of Jacksonville Beach repeated the rules in a September 16 notice to residents. That notice describes the declaration as covering "portions of Duval County," but the District's order lists the whole county.

Here's how the current rules compare with the two schedules the District normally rotates between:

Your watering day stays the same after Sunday. An address ending in 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9 waters on Saturday. One ending in 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8 waters on Sunday. Condo associations, commercial properties and other nonresidential sites water on Tuesday.

The one real difference between Phase III and an ordinary winter is the clock. The usual ban runs six hours in the middle of the day. Phase III stretches it to ten, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. On both schedules, each zone gets no more than three-quarters of an inch of water and no more than one hour on your day. The rules apply whether the water comes from a public utility, a private utility, a private well or a pump.

Why the Calendar Stopped Running the Schedule

The normal schedule follows the seasons: two days in summer, one in winter. A water shortage order follows conditions instead. Order 2026-017 sets no end date. It lets the District rescind it or change it as conditions shift, and the Executive Director can move the region between phases without waiting for a board meeting. The District's watering restrictions page, updated October 12, still shows Phase III as current. It says conditions are monitored regularly and "additional restrictions may be implemented if conditions continue to worsen."

When the order was written in May, groundwater monitoring sites in Duval County were at or below the 10th percentile, and had been for more than four weeks. By mid-September, News4JAX reported that Duval and St. Johns counties were each more than 15 inches below their 12-month average rainfall. The station added that the region had been dealing with a water shortage since the previous fall.

September brought some rain. Clay Coarsey, the District's Director of Water Supply and Assessment, told News4JAX it wasn't nearly enough. Asked how much more rain it would take to bring aquifer levels back to normal, he said:

"A little over 30 inches or so over the next 3 months would be needed above and beyond your everyday rainfall."

Coarsey also offered some hope in the same report. Fall days are shorter, less water evaporates and plants need less of it, so rain this time of year soaks into the ground and recharges the aquifer more effectively than summer rain does. That's why the rain this fall and winter will decide when the restrictions ease, not the time change in March.

Fall Sod Runs on a Tighter Schedule

The time change won't affect established lawns this year, but it does matter if you're planning to replace a patch of St. Augustinegrass before the holidays. Phase III shortens the grace period for new plantings.

Under normal rules, new landscape can be watered any day, at any hour, for the first 30 days, then every other day for the next 30. Under Phase III, the District uses a "15/30/15" schedule:

• Days 1 through 15: water every day
• Days 16 through 45: up to three days a week
• Days 46 through 60: up to two days a week

The total is still about 60 days, but you get only half as many days of unrestricted watering before the limits start. UF/IFAS Duval County Extension's May guidance on replacing a lawn notes that St. Augustinegrass handles partial shade well but needs extra irrigation. It also says to watch the water shortage rules during a new lawn's establishment period. The Extension's September guidance points out that established trees and shrubs need little or no irrigation, so you can usually turn off zones that water mature beds without harming the plants.

What the Order Covers Beyond Lawns

Order 2026-017 also sets rules for how Jacksonville Beach properties are cleaned and maintained.

Pressure washing. It's allowed for construction, for prep before painting or sealing, to meet a warranty, or to clear hazardous buildup as necessary maintenance. Washing only to improve appearance, including to meet an HOA's appearance standards, isn't one of the listed purposes.

Decorative water use. The order prohibits aesthetic uses of water.

Pools. You can keep up a pool, but the order asks owners to use as little make-up water as possible and to fix leaks promptly.

Street washing and car washing. Streets can be washed with water only to prepare for a parade or public event or to clean up right after one. Mechanical street sweeping is allowed at any time. Commercial car washes and hand-detailing businesses fall under the order's limits for commercial users.

Golf courses. Fairways and driving range greens are limited to watering once a week, and tees and greens to three times a week. The District's page says those limits don't apply to courses that use 100 percent reclaimed water.

The District's standard exceptions also list hand watering with an adjustable-nozzle hose and drip, bubbler, micro-spray and micro-jet systems as allowed at any time. That list comes from the general rules, though, and doesn't say how it fits with Phase III's 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. ban. Before you count on hand watering in the afternoon, ask the District directly.

Before Your Watering Day This Weekend

The District says that if your timer isn't already set to one day a week, running only between 6 p.m. and 8 a.m., you should reset it right away. Many controllers adjust for daylight saving time automatically, so this is a good weekend to check yours anyway:

1. Make sure the clock on the controller shows the right time after the change. A controller that's an hour off can start a cycle at 7 a.m. instead of 6 a.m., or end one after 8 a.m.
2. Check that only your assigned day is selected: Saturday for odd or unnumbered addresses, Sunday for even ones.
3. Set each zone to run no more than an hour and put down no more than three-quarters of an inch.
4. Run each zone once and watch for broken or misaligned heads spraying the street, sidewalk or driveway, as the District and the City both ask.
5. If your automatic system went in after May 1991, make sure the rain sensor works. The District's rules require one so the system skips a cycle after enough rain.

The District can change the phase at any time, so the watering restrictions page is the place to check for updates.

This post is general information, not legal advice. Please confirm how the order applies to your property or association with the St. Johns River Water Management District, the City of Jacksonville Beach or your own attorney.

At Tonya O'Quinn Group, we pay close attention to the details of owning a home at the beach, from irrigation timers to association notices. If you're getting a Jacksonville Beach home ready to sell this winter under these watering rules, we're glad to help you plan the landscaping and the timeline. Request your free home valuation or relocation consultation.