I had to look up which day my address waters. That's how I found out the new schedule had started.
Charlotte Water moved to voluntary water restrictions on Monday, April 20, the first time since 2023. The whole Catawba-Wateree River Basin is in Stage 1 of its regional drought protocol, and the city is asking residents to cut back. Nothing is mandatory. There are no fines. But if you have an irrigation system in Ballantyne, the new ask is real: outdoor watering no more than two days a week, with a schedule based on whether your address is odd or even.
The schedule
If your house number ends in 1, 3, 5, 7, or 9: water on Tuesday and Saturday.
If it ends in 0, 2, 4, 6, or 8: water on Wednesday and Sunday.
The city is also asking that you avoid watering during the heat of the day, keep total weekly watering to one inch (rainfall counts), avoid hosing off driveways and sidewalks, and use commercial car washes that recycle water rather than washing in the driveway. The full list and the policy frame are in the Charlotte Mercury's coverage of the announcement.
What it means in Ballantyne
Most irrigation systems running on factory presets will need a check. The one-inch ceiling is for the whole week, and it includes whatever the sky delivers — which between now and the next real rain looks like very little. WCNC's Brad Panovich said the seven-day forecast for Charlotte has no major rain in it.
For HOA-managed common areas, this matters more than for a single yard. A Ballantyne neighborhood with shared turf, perimeter beds, and a pool deck pulls a lot of water. Whether the HOA cuts back is up to the board, and board decisions move at the board's meeting cadence — usually at least a few weeks of lag before anything reaches the irrigation timer. If you serve on a board, this is worth raising at the next meeting.
The other piece worth knowing about: a citywide burn ban also went into effect April 16. That one is not voluntary. Open burning is prohibited inside the city, including within 100 feet of any occupied dwelling, which covers the kind of fire pit a lot of Ballantyne backyards have. Cooking on a grill is fine if it is contained, attended, and you have a hose or fire extinguisher within reach.
For watershed-minded readers
The Catawba-Wateree Basin has not been in Stage 1 since 2023. That is a meaningful regional signal, and worth pairing with the slower watershed-quality stories like the 1,200-gallon Ballantyne Creek spill last May. Drought conditions and water quality both put pressure on the same shared system. The drought ask is one part of how the region responds.
If the basin moves to Stage 2, it will come from the Drought Management Advisory Group — not from Charlotte Water alone — and the ask gets stricter. For now, voluntary is the word. The schedule is the framework. Tuesday-and-Saturday or Wednesday-and-Sunday: pick yours.