Frisco Watering Schedule: What Artificial Turf Changes

What does Frisco's watering schedule say right now?

Everything in this section comes from the city's watering schedule page and its Water Efficiency Plan, as posted in late 2026. Please read them before you set a controller, since the city can update them at any time.

Winter, November 1 through March 31: no watering of lawn grass with spray or rotor sprinklers. The city's reasoning is that grass is dormant and doesn't need irrigation. Drip, bubblers and micro irrigation for trees and beds, along with hand watering from a hose with a shutoff nozzle, are allowed up to two hours a day, only when the weather calls for it.

Spring, April 1 through May 31, and fall, September 1 through October 31: one day a week, on your regular trash day. Spray and rotor heads stay off between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Summer, June 1 through August 31: your trash day plus one paired day from the city's table (a Monday trash day pairs with Thursday, for example). The plan says the second day is there to split the week's watering in two, so the weekly total stays the same. The 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. ban runs April through October.

Year round, the city enforces a ban on water running off your property or onto streets and driveways, and it bars watering during rain or below 40 degrees. A first residential violation is $100.

For new landscaping, the watering schedule page says temporary exemptions may be available. They typically last up to 30 days, the request has to go in before work begins, and documentation may be required. For summer the two city pages differ. The watering schedule page says temporary exemptions may be granted for new landscaping or erosion control, while the Water Efficiency Plan says no exemptions will be given for turfgrass areas at existing homes in June, July and August. If you are counting on one, ask Frisco Water Resources first.

How much water do Bermuda and St. Augustine need?

A Texas A&M AgriLife lawn grass comparison, written for Bexar County and Central and South Texas, puts Bermuda at half an inch of water a week or less to stay green, and St. Augustine at three quarters of an inch a week while it is growing. North Texas has its own climate, so treat those as a rough guide.

The chart's advice for dormant grass varies: almost no water for Bermuda, half an inch every two or three weeks for St. Augustine, and a footnote saying all dormant grass needs an inch every two weeks in place of rain. The City of Frisco's position is that dormant grass doesn't need irrigation, and that is the rule your sprinklers follow from November through March.

On paper, one deep watering a week covers those growing season numbers in spring and fall. The trouble tends to come from the yard itself. The chart lists Bermuda as a full sun grass with no shade tolerance, so it often thins under trees. St. Augustine tolerates dappled sun and is the thirstier of the two on that chart, and in a dry August the summer limit may leave it short.

Grass can work here, and plenty of lawns look fine on the schedule.

What does artificial turf take off the list?

Turf doesn't need watering to stay green, so the schedule stops mattering for whatever part of the yard you convert. A back lawn, a dog run or a pool strip that goes to turf no longer needs sprinkler coverage, and it's a good idea to talk to an irrigation pro about the heads in that area and the zones you keep. The trash day limits still apply to any grass and spray zones that stay.

Turf has its own trade-offs too. It can get hot in direct afternoon sun, warmer than grass, so it helps to think about shade when you plan the space. It still collects dust, pollen and leaves, and an occasional rinse and brush tends to keep it looking right. A rinse from a hose with a shutoff nozzle looks closest to the city's hand watering category, but please confirm with the city, especially from November through March.

If you are weighing the trade, our page on Frisco backyard artificial turf installation covers what goes under the turf and why, and the Frisco turf cost guide has our typical per square foot range with rough arithmetic for common yard sizes.

How do you decide what to convert?

Walk the yard on a July evening and look at where the grass is struggling. You may find it is only part of the lawn, like the strip the dogs run, the shade under a big tree or the ground beside the pool. Those spots can struggle on any watering schedule, since wear and shade are working against them.

You could convert only those spots and keep the rest as grass. The remaining lawn is smaller, so one weekly watering may go further. You could also convert the whole backyard and keep the front as grass, since Frisco's landscape rules may limit turf out front in single family yards. Please check with the city and your HOA before planning anything there. If you live in Plano, your city has its own watering rules, so check those instead.