Watering rules in Deltona come from the St. Johns River Water Management District, the state agency that manages water for northeast and east-central Florida. The district sets which days and hours you can run an irrigation system, and the City of Deltona publishes the same schedule for its customers. The rules apply whether your water comes from Deltona Water, a private well or reclaimed water.
This guide explains how the schedule works and how to set your timer to follow it. Rules can change, especially during a drought, so always check the district's watering restrictions page and the City of Deltona irrigation page for the current version before you program anything.
Your watering day depends on your address
The district assigns days based on whether your house number is odd or even, with a separate day for nonresidential properties. An address ending in 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9 is odd. An address ending in 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8 is even. Properties with no address follow the odd schedule.
Under the district's normal schedule, published on both the district and City of Deltona pages when we checked in November 2026:
| Daylight saving time | Standard time | |
|---|---|---|
| Odd or no address | Wednesday and Saturday | Saturday |
| Even address | Thursday and Sunday | Sunday |
| Nonresidential | Tuesday and Friday | Tuesday |
Daylight saving time runs from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November. Standard time covers the rest of the year. In short: two days a week in the warm months, one day a week in the cool months.
Time-of-day and run-time limits
The normal rules also limit when and how long you water:
- No irrigation between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., when evaporation is highest.
- No more than one hour per zone on each watering day.
- No more than three-quarters of an inch of water per zone on each watering day.
Early morning is the best time to water in Deltona. The air is calm, less water evaporates and the grass dries off as the day warms, which helps prevent fungus on St. Augustine lawns.
When the rules get stricter
During a drought, the district can declare a water shortage and issue an order that cuts watering days, shortens hours or both. That happened in parts of the district in 2026. A shortage order replaces the normal schedule for the areas it covers until it is lifted. Because those orders change, we do not list their details here. Check the district page linked above, or call your utility, before you assume the normal schedule applies.
Reclaimed water follows the rules too
Reclaimed water is highly treated wastewater that is reused for irrigation. In Deltona it is available only in limited areas, and Deltona Water can tell you whether your address has it. If you do have reclaimed water, the watering days and hours still apply, and the city can post temporary reclaimed restrictions during dry weather.
Setting your timer step by step
Every controller is a little different, but most work the same way. Here is the general process:
- Set the date and time. Make sure the clock and calendar are correct, including AM and PM.
- Choose your watering days. Pick the days of the week that match your address, rather than an interval such as every third day.
- Set one start time. Choose an early-morning start that lets every zone finish before 10 a.m. Many timers have several start times per program, and an extra one left over from years ago is a common reason systems run twice.
- Set run times by zone. Spray zones usually need less time than rotor zones, and drip zones need more. Keep every zone at or under one hour.
- Clear unused programs. Check programs B, C and so on. If they have days or start times set, they will run.
- Check the rain sensor. Florida law requires a working rain sensor or similar shutoff on automatic systems installed after May 1991. Make sure yours is connected and not bypassed.
Put a reminder on your calendar for the second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in November. Those are the days your watering schedule changes. Many controllers have a seasonal adjustment or a second program you can switch between, which makes the change quick.
Wi-Fi controllers
A Wi-Fi controller can make following the rules easier. Most let you set allowed days, pause watering from your phone during a stretch of storms and adjust run times by season. They still need to be set up correctly: a controller that decides on its own to water every other day will break the rules just as easily as an old dial timer. If you install one, set the allowed days first.