Jackson is set to vote on summer lawn watering limits

If your sprinkler is part of the evening routine, Monday's Jackson Town Council vote could change when it runs. In the Town Council Regular Meeting Agenda Packet, council is set for final approval of Ordinance C, which would create mandatory outdoor irrigation limits for homes and businesses on the town water system when demand gets too high. Staff says the goal is to cut summer peak use, protect fire-flow capacity, and stretch water reliability during a below-average snowpack year.

The proposal uses a two-phase system. In Phase 1, even-numbered addresses could water only on even-numbered days, and odd-numbered addresses only on odd-numbered days, between 6 p.m. and 9 a.m. In Phase 2, the schedule tightens to two days a week, Tuesdays and Saturdays for even-numbered addresses, Sundays and Wednesdays for odd-numbered addresses, still only overnight. Drip irrigation and hand watering with an automatic shut-off nozzle would still be allowed any day, and new lawns would get a 30-day exception after installation. Violations could bring penalties of up to $750 a day. Staff told council at the May 18 third-reading packet that delaying the ordinance would leave Jackson without formal irrigation rules for the 2026 season, even as the town says its Zone 3 water system is under more pressure from irrigation and reduced snowpack.