One of the more difficult citizen relations issues that we create for ourselves each summer in Eden Prairie is the enforcement of our lawn watering rules. Believe me, the City appreciates the lush green lawns of our neighborhoods. It’s a good sign that people care about their property and their community. However, lawn watering has a huge impact on the City’s water usage. The City pumps four to five times more water to residents in the summer than in the winter. To ensure that there is enough water for everyone, people within the City must share the water resources, which is to say that the City must ration its limited daily water supply.
To conserve water, all homes and businesses in Eden Prairie must follow the lawn watering restrictions. Eden Prairie City Code Section 3.30 states that City water customers may water lawns, grass or turf only on an odd/even schedule. No irrigation is allowed between noon and 5 p.m. on any day. Private wells are exempt from the City ordinance.
On the odd/even schedule, people with a house or business address that ends in an odd number may water only on odd-numbered days. Houses or businesses with even numbered addresses may water only on even-numbered days. A 30-day exemption may be granted for newly planted areas, except that no watering is allowed between noon and 5 pm.
There are a couple of exemptions to our ordinance. If you are a resident of the City and are doing minor seeding, sod installation or new landscaping, please download and return the Lawn Watering Exemption form on the right. If you do more extensive landscaping, please download and return the Conservation Surcharge Exemption Request form along with your receipt(s). The Conservation Surcharge Exemption Request form would cover both the 30-day lawn water exemption and the exemption from the conservation surcharge program for the current year.
Watering restrictions are enforced year-round, and violators will be fined. If you have any questions about our lawn watering ordinance and how it is enforced, please contact the City’s Environmental Services Manager, Ms. Leslie Stovring, at 952-949-8327 or contact her online at lstovring@edenprairie.org.
