Wichita now limits outdoor watering to three set days a week. Here's exactly what the rules are, who has to follow them — and why homeowners with a private irrigation well get a real break.
The short answer: Wichita has a permanent 3-day-per-week outdoor watering schedule. Your watering days depend on whether your house number is odd or even, no one waters on Mondays, and no outdoor watering is allowed between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. any day of the week.
The good news for well owners: the City of Wichita lists well water usage among the uses that are not affected by the 3-day schedule, and the City's own conservation page states plainly that well users are exempt. A private irrigation well means the day-of-week rule no longer dictates when you can water your lawn. See how a lawn-irrigation well works.
If you've been frustrated trying to keep your grass green on only three set days a week, you're not imagining it — Wichita's watering rules really did change, and they're now permanent. Below is a plain-English breakdown of the current restrictions, where they come from, and exactly how a private irrigation well changes the picture for your yard.
The City of Wichita adopted a permanent 3-day-per-week outdoor watering schedule. Your days are assigned by the last digit of your street address:
| Your address ends in… | You may water on… |
|---|---|
| An odd number (1, 3, 5, 7, 9) | Wednesday, Friday, Sunday |
| An even number (0, 2, 4, 6, 8) | Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday |
| Everyone | No watering on Mondays |
On top of the assigned days, there is a time-of-day rule that applies to everyone: no outdoor watering between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. The idea is to keep watering out of the hottest part of the day, when much of it simply evaporates before it ever helps your lawn.
So under the city schedule, a typical homeowner gets three watering days and has to fit all of it into the early morning or the evening. For anyone with a big or thirsty lawn, that's a tight window.
These aren't temporary signs that go away after a wet spring. Wichita's drinking-water supply was strained through several drought years, and the City responded with two things working together:
In short: the three-day schedule is the floor, and a declared drought stage can make things stricter from there. That's worth keeping in mind, because the value of having your own water source goes up the drier it gets.
A private irrigation well frees your lawn from the 3-day schedule and takes summer watering off your city water bill. See how the install works.
This is the part most Wichita homeowners don't realize. The City of Wichita's watering rules apply to city water — the treated, metered water piped to your house. They are not designed to govern your own private well.
Two official sources confirm it. The City's permanent watering schedule materials list "well water usage" among the uses not impacted by the 3-day-per-week schedule, and the City's Save Wichita Water page states directly that well users are exempt. So if you irrigate your lawn from a private well instead of the city tap, the odd/even day-of-week schedule no longer decides when you can water.
We want to be straight with you here, because it matters:
Bottom line: a private well takes the most painful part of the restrictions — being told which three days you may water — off the table for your lawn.
The watering-days exemption is only half the reason Wichita homeowners put in irrigation wells. The other half is cost. In Wichita, summer lawn watering is billed at the city's highest water tiers — up to $17.93 per 1,000 gallons in 2026. A thirsty lawn in July and August can run hundreds of dollars a month on city water.
A private irrigation well removes that recurring summer cost entirely. Your home stays on city water for drinking and indoor use, and the city bills sewer on your winter average either way — so the savings are real and they're on the water charge. Heavy waterers and bigger lawns recover the install cost the fastest. To see your own number, use our savings calculator — it runs the City of Wichita's real 2026 tiered rates against your lawn.
Wichita sits over the shallow Equus Beds aquifer, so many lawn-irrigation wells here only need to go about 60–70 feet deep — which keeps the cost down compared with regions where homeowners drill hundreds of feet. A complete turnkey well — the drilling and pump, the combined electric and sprinkler hookup, and the cleanup — typically runs $6,950 to $7,250 all-in, with most jobs near $7,100. For the full breakdown, see our Wichita well cost guide.
One number for the whole job, one local team, no chasing separate contractors — and once it's in, your lawn waters on your schedule, not the city's.
Wichita has a permanent 3-day-per-week schedule. Odd-numbered addresses (ending 1,3,5,7,9) may water Wednesday, Friday and Sunday; even-numbered addresses (ending 0,2,4,6,8) may water Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. No outdoor watering on Mondays, and none between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. any day. These rules come from the City of Wichita — confirm current details on the City's official watering schedule page.
Yes. The City of Wichita lists well water usage among the uses not impacted by the 3-day schedule, and the City's Save Wichita Water page states that well users are exempt. So a private irrigation well lets you water on days the city schedule would otherwise block. The City still asks well owners to conserve voluntarily and follow drought-stage guidance. See how a lawn-irrigation well works.
The published exemption is from the day-of-week schedule — the rule that otherwise limits you to three set days. We'd still avoid the 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. window because midday watering wastes water to evaporation and is hard on your lawn, and because the City asks well owners to conserve. Always confirm the current rules on the City of Wichita's official pages.
Wichita's drinking-water supply was strained through recent drought years, so the City adopted a permanent 3-day schedule plus a multi-stage Drought Response Plan that tightens rules as conditions worsen. In the most severe stage, all outdoor watering for non-exempt customers can be prohibited.
Yes. Summer lawn watering is billed at Wichita's highest tiers — up to $17.93 per 1,000 gallons in 2026 — so a private irrigation well removes that recurring summer cost on top of freeing you from the schedule. Your home stays on city water for indoor use. Try our savings calculator for your number.
Over the shallow Equus Beds aquifer, a complete turnkey lawn-irrigation well typically runs $6,950 to $7,250 all-in, with most jobs near $7,100 — drilling and pump, combined electric and sprinkler hookup, and cleanup. See our Wichita well cost guide, or get a free fixed-price quote for your exact number.
A private irrigation well frees you from the 3-day rule and takes summer watering off your city bill. See what you'd save, then get a free fixed-price quote.