Tampa issues hundreds of watering fines for violations during historic drought: Here are ways to save water

TAMPA, Fla. - Hundreds of Tampa Water Department (TWD) customers are facing tickets and fines for failing to follow strict emergency watering restrictions during the last six months.

Hundreds of citations issued

By the numbers:

Tampa officials have issued 430 tickets to water-line violators since the local water shortage began on Dec. 1, 2025. That citation volume marks a spike of nearly 30% compared to the same period from the previous year.

Mayor Jane Castor said a large portion of these violations take place in high-use neighborhoods, including South Tampa and New Tampa. In these areas, some customers use more than 10,000 gallons of water every month, placing them among the top home water users in the community.

Citywide water use rises

Overall water use across the city, meanwhile, increased over the past month. Because of this jump, Castor is urging families to follow the one-day-a-week restrictions set by the Southwest Florida Water Management District. Lawn watering is completely banned between the hours of 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Fines for breaking the rules range from $100 to $500, depending on how many times a person has violated the rules. The most critical step for homeowners is to learn their assigned watering day and program their irrigation systems to match it, according to officials.

Conservation during historic drought

What they're saying:

"The message is we're asking the community to help us conserve water during this drought, the worst drought that we've had in 50 years, and even if it starts raining in the afternoon, it's been so long since we've had water that all of that water has to seep down into the aquifers before it's going to make a difference," Castor said Tuesday.

Free water-saving programs

What you can do:

TWD is offering a free, one-on-one irrigation system evaluation to help families cut back on their monthly consumption. Homeowners who participate in these personalized sessions save roughly 5,000 gallons of water per month.

Residents can also pick up free water-saving tools and specialized leak detection devices directly from the city to fix hidden household issues.