Guelph manages its water supply carefully, and the Outside Water Use Bylaw is the rulebook. Here’s what it means for keeping a lawn green — and how to water smarter regardless of what level is in effect.
The one-inch rule
A lawn needs roughly 2.5 centimetres — one inch — of water per week, rain included. The best way to deliver it is one deep weekly soak, not a daily sprinkle. Deep watering pushes roots down; daily light watering trains roots to stay shallow, which makes the lawn fragile the moment a dry spell hits. An easy trick: set an empty tuna can near the sprinkler and stop when it’s full.
What the bylaw regulates
The City of Guelph’s program restricts outdoor water use based on supply conditions, with levels that tighten as conditions get drier — affecting when and how often you can water lawns. Letting water pool or run off onto pavement is prohibited at all times, whatever the level. Because levels change with conditions, check the City of Guelph’s website for the current status before setting sprinkler timers each season.
Letting a lawn go dormant is fine
Here’s the part that surprises people: a healthy lawn can go brown and dormant for five or six weeks without dying. If restrictions are tight or you just don’t want to water, stop fertilizing, keep foot traffic off it, and mow less often — it will typically bounce back green when the rain returns. We adjust mowing frequency for dormant lawns automatically, which is one of the perks of a service with no fixed contract: you’re not paying for cuts a sleeping lawn doesn’t need.
Watering and lawn services
Two of our services interact with watering. After a fertilizer application, the product needs watering-in within about a day, so we time applications around rain and restrictions. And mowing at 3 inches — our standard — reduces how much water a lawn needs at all, because taller grass shades the soil and slows evaporation. Smart height plus smart watering is most of the battle in a Guelph summer.
Related reading: Watering Your Lawn in a Guelph Summer: Less Often, Much Deeper