Bakersfield Watering Schedule: When and How Long to Water

The Bakersfield watering schedule for City water customers is three set days a week, only after 6 p.m. or before 9 a.m. Odd addresses water on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, even addresses on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, and nobody waters on Monday. The City made these rules mandatory in December 2021, and they are still in force. Cal Water customers can water on any day, but not between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.

How long to water changes every month. With sprinklers that put down about an inch of water an hour, the University of California's guide calls for about 85 minutes a week on a bermuda lawn in July and only 6 in December.

The address days apply only to homes on the City's water system, so the first step in setting your Bakersfield watering schedule is knowing who supplies your water.

Which Bakersfield watering schedule applies to your home

Bakersfield has more than one water company, and each sets its own rules. Your water bill names yours, and the City's Water Department website has a map of which company serves which area.

Cal Water customers

You can water on any day. Cal Water dropped its day limits in May 2023, when it moved from Stage 2 to Stage 1 of its water shortage plan, but its ban on watering from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. still covers every day of the week and every customer. That morning cutoff comes an hour earlier than the City's.

City of Bakersfield customers

The City has been in Stage 2 of its drought plan since December 2021, with mandatory restrictions for customers on its water system until further notice:

• Lawn and landscape watering three days a week, only after 6 p.m. and before 9 a.m.
• Odd-numbered addresses water on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
• Even-numbered addresses water on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
• No outdoor watering on Mondays.
• No outdoor watering during rain or for 48 hours after measurable rain.
• No hosing down sidewalks, driveways, patios or other hard surfaces with drinking water, and a shut-off nozzle on any hose used to wash a car.

The City also recommends cutting back to two days a week: Tuesday and Saturday for odd addresses, Wednesday and Sunday for even ones. Its water conservation page adds that sprinkler water may not run into gutters or streets, and it asks that a leak be fixed within five working days of the City pointing it out.

Oildale and other water companies

Oildale Mutual Water Company recommends set days for Oildale, listed on the Oildale sprinkler repair page. Other companies that serve parts of Bakersfield set their own rules, so check with yours.

How long to water a lawn in Bakersfield, month by month

The University of California publishes weekly watering times for lawns in the San Joaquin Valley, which takes in Bakersfield. The table gives the total minutes for the whole week on a sprinkler system that puts down about 1 inch of water an hour.

Bermuda, zoysia and St. Augustine are warm-season grasses, so use the bermuda column. Tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass and ryegrass are cool-season grasses, so use the fescue column. Not sure which grass you have? See the most common grass types in Bakersfield. If your system puts down half an inch an hour, double the minutes. At 2 inches an hour, halve them.

The numbers come from the Lawn Watering Guide for California, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources Publication 8044.

Find your system's output with the can test

Set six or more straight-sided cans, such as tuna cans, evenly across one zone. Run that zone for 20 minutes, measure the water in each can with a ruler, and average the readings. Multiply the average by 3 and you have inches per hour. Spray heads usually put down water faster than rotors, so test a zone of each kind.

Setting your controller for the Bakersfield watering schedule

• Split the weekly minutes into two to four waterings, or into your two or three days on the City system. The UC guide says deeper, less frequent watering is best for most lawns because it grows deeper roots, and that cool-season grasses like fescue have shallow roots and often need water more often.
• If water starts running off before a zone finishes, break that watering into shorter runs. The guide says slopes and shallow soils usually need several short waterings instead of one long one.
• On the City system, set the controller to your address days and leave Monday off.
• Set the start time so the last zone finishes before your cutoff: 8 a.m. on Cal Water, 9 a.m. on the City system. A controller that starts at 6 a.m. and runs seven zones for 20 minutes each ends at 8:20, which breaks Cal Water's rule and fits the City's.
• Reset the minutes every month. The guide suggests a monthly reset through the growing season, because the weather changes how much water the lawn uses.
• Turn the system off when it rains. City customers may not water during rain or for 48 hours after measurable rain, and the UC guide suggests a pause during unusually rainy weather for every lawn.

When the watering schedule is not the problem

If brown spots stay after you add minutes, look at the sprinklers before you add more. The UC guide points to broken, clogged or malfunctioning heads that leave parts of a lawn dry. Water running down the gutter, a patch that never dries, or a zone that keeps going after the controller shuts off are signs of a leak or a valve that won't close.

Select Landscape handles all of these as part of sprinkler repair in Bakersfield. If you would rather water less, the City also suggests replacing thirsty lawn and plants with drought-tolerant landscaping, which is part of our landscape design work.

Key takeaways

• City of Bakersfield water customers water three days a week by address, never on Monday, and only after 6 p.m. or before 9 a.m.
• Cal Water customers can water on any day, but not between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.
• A bermuda lawn needs about 14 times as much water in July as in December, so reset the minutes every month.
• A can test shows how fast your sprinklers put down water, so you know whether to double or halve the minutes.
• If brown spots stay after you add minutes, check the sprinklers before adding more water.

If your lawn still struggles on the right schedule, we can help: request your free estimate.