Homeowners are being told to conserve water and San Antonio Water System is cracking down on people who break the rules.
The fine for rule breakers is about $125 for anyone looking to skirt the rules to treat their lawn.
SAWS says it doesn't expect to hit Stage 3 water restrictions, but the Stage 2 restrictions remain in place.
San Antonio has seen several days of 100-degree temperatures or hotter.
All this means lawns across the region are taking a beating.
"Were in the middle of a long hot summer and because of that we are in stage two restrictions and we expect to stay in those until our weather pattern turns,” SAWS conservation director Karen Guz said.
That turn could come in the fall. Restrictions lifted last year in mid-October.
In the meantime, SAWS says people need to follow the rules on their days to water. SAWS will issue warnings when citizens complain about seeing non-compliance. But if an officer sees an address that isn’t following the rules, he or she is going to issue a citation without a warning. Restrictions have been in place for several months and people have had time to adjust and learn their water day and times, SAWS said.
"There are also police officers working part time patrolling all hours of the day and night and looking for violations, and if they see a violation, they are likely to issue a citation,” Guz said.
Last year, SAWS issued Stage 1 restrictions and saw roughly 2,600 warnings and 300 citations.
In 2018, we're a stage higher and closing in on both those numbers. SAWS has issued nearly 2,500 warnings and 250 citations.
In Stage 2, watering with a sprinkler, irrigation system or soaker hose is allowed only between 7-11 a.m. and 7-11 p.m. on your designated day. Watering with a hand-held hose is still allowed any time on any day.
Watering days are determined by the last number of your address:
One issue facing some homeowners are automatic timers. If your power goes out, your system may reset and water your lawn when you don't intend it to.
"Maybe yours is a new controller that keeps its programming, maybe it's not. It's not worth the hassle. Go out and put in a backup battery,” Guz said.
SAWS says right now is a good time to examine all everything growing around your home. In August, they'll start offering coupons to plant drought-resistant plants to conserve water.