Proper water management is essential everywhere, particularly with drought conditions facing much of the west, and the City of Hobbs is serious about ensuring that residents do not waste water. In 2015, the city adopted as part of its Municipal Code an annual Water Conservation Period (WCP). The WCP is found in Chapter 13.20 (PDF) of the code.

Sunday, May 15 marks the beginning of the 2022WCP. The period ends on Thursday, September 15th. 

“Water restrictions during the WCP include domestic and commercial water usage for garden, lawn, or other exterior watering or sprinkling application,” states Hobbs Director of Communications Meghan Mooney in a recent press release (PDF).

What Days May I Water?

Determining the days a property owner may water is very simple. Odd numbered addresses water on odd calendar days; even numbered addresses water on even numbered days.

The only exception to this formula applies to properties that have two addresses. In such cases, the address number that appears on the property’s water bill determines the applicable watering days.

When May I Water?

Watering is not allowed at just any time a property owner desires. Certain restrictions apply.

• Watering is allowed only ONCE per day and ONLY on the days designated.. 

• Watering is permitted ONLY between 4:00 am – 8:00 am or 7:00 pm –11:00 pm. “You must pick one of these designated time periods to water, not both,” states the press release. 

• Watering is permitted on calendar days 1 – 30.

• Watering is not permitted on calendar day 31, (July 31 or August 31).

The press release specifically states that the time schedule includes landscape watering. This means that landscape watering is not allowed “on the incorrect day and/or during both time slots.” 

Regulations About Water-Wasting 

The City of Hobbs reminds residents that the following restrictions are in effect all 12 months of the year, not just during the WCP. A property owner may be fined for violating these regulations.

• “No person, firm, corporation, municipal, other government facility or operation shall waste, cause, or permit any water to be wasted.” 

• Water may not be allowed to “… escape from any premises onto public property, such as alleys or streets, or upon any other person’s property.”

• The washing of “… vehicles, structures, driveways, sidewalks, parking areas, or other impervious surface areas with an open hose” is prohibited.

• “Operating a misting system in unoccupied nonresidential areas” is prohibited.

• Operating a “permanently installed irrigation system” that has a “broken head or emitter” is prohibited.

• Operating a permanent system with “a head that is spraying more than 10% of the spray onto the street, parking lot, or sidewalk” is prohibited.

• Controllable leaks must be repaired. This includes broken sprinkler heads, leaking valves, leaking faucets, leaking toilets and leaking supply lines and/or pipes.

Hobbs is Committed to Water Conservation

The goal of the WCP is to curb the amount of water that is wasted in the city, especially during the area’s hottest and driest time of the year when rainfall is at a minimum. This period has been designed as from mid-May through mid-September.

According to the press release, over 2.14 billion gallons of water have been saved since the WCP’s adoption in 2015.

“In the desert climate our area lies in and the extreme pressure placed on the Ogallala Aquifer by which our community and others rely upon, this magnitude of water conservation goes a particularly long way,” states Mooney in the press release.

The city will assist property owners in adjusting irrigation systems to comply with water conservation regulations.

For more information call (575) 397-9216 (Billing and Customer Service) or (575)397-9315 (Emergency, Weekend, Holiday and After Hours Service).

Photo by Steve DiMatteo // Unsplash