Bores, the sprinkler roster and the winter ban
Perth has a permanent two-day sprinkler roster set by house number, a total sprinkler ban from 1 June to 31 August, and rules that apply whether you are on scheme water or your own bore. This is a design constraint, not a maintenance detail.
Perth’s watering rules sit in the approvals phase for the same reason setbacks and pool fencing do. They decide what you are allowed to build, they are free to design around now, and they are expensive to discover in November with a dead lawn and an infringement notice on the bench.
The short version: two watering days a week, fixed by your house number. On each of those days you may water once, before 9am or after 6pm. From 1 June to 31 August you may not use sprinklers at all. None of it is negotiable, and none of it cares whether the water comes from a Water Corporation meter or a bore you paid for yourself.
Everything below was checked against Water Corporation and wa.gov.au on 2 August 2026. The framework dates from the Permanent Water Efficiency Measures introduced statewide in 2007, and the roster and switch-off are unchanged as at today.
What a professional does at this stage
A landscaper who has been through a few Perth summers designs backwards from the roster rather than forwards from the plan. Four things happen before a concept drawing exists.
The two days and the water source get written down, because a garden that needs three waterings a week in February is an illegal garden, not a thirsty one. Turf area and plant palette get sized to what two waterings can sustain on sand — see hydrozoning. The planting date is chosen deliberately, because the new-garden exemption is the only legal way to water a new lawn daily and it is anchored to the day of installation. And if a bore is in play, its viability and licensing get settled before anything is drawn that assumes free water.
The amateur version is to build the garden, then find out. That is how people end up laying instant turf on 2 June.
The roster
The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation publishes the full table. For Perth and Mandurah, from 1 September to 31 May, your two days are set by the last digit of your house number — and scheme users and garden bore users get identical days.
| Last digit of house number | Your two watering days |
|---|---|
| 1 | Wednesday and Saturday |
| 2 | Thursday and Sunday |
| 3 | Friday and Monday |
| 4 | Saturday and Tuesday |
| 5 | Sunday and Wednesday |
| 6 | Monday and Thursday |
| 7 | Tuesday and Friday |
| 8 | Wednesday and Saturday |
| 9 | Thursday and Sunday |
| 0 | Friday and Monday |
Three things this table does not tell you:
- It is your street number, not your unit number. Every villa or apartment behind number 42 waters on number 42’s days.
- Confirm it with the official lookup anyway. Check your watering days also tells you whether your address is inside the Perth and Mandurah area at all. Outside it the rules differ — Albany and the northern and southern country areas allow any day, once a day, in the same time windows.
- If two properties share one bore and cannot isolate the reticulation, each property may only irrigate on the days that apply to the property where the bore is located. Worth knowing before you agree to share one with a neighbour.
The windows, and what a breach costs
Once a day, before 9am or after 6pm, on your rostered days. Not both windows. Not twice.
The fine is $100, issued on the spot. Inspectors work seven days a week, every complaint is investigated, and Water Corporation’s published position is blunt: a controller malfunction will not save you. That matters on a renovation, because a controller still running the previous owner’s programme is running someone else’s roster. Reprogram it the week you take possession, not the week you start work.
1 June to 31 August: the switch-off
No sprinklers at all, anywhere in Perth, Mandurah and parts of the South West and Great Southern. It is mandatory for households and businesses alike, and it binds licensed groundwater users too — councils, schools, golf courses.
The one real exception is supply-based: the switch-off does not apply to irrigation systems fed from a rainwater tank. If your design includes a tank, that is a genuine legal advantage worth designing for — see irrigation water source. For everyone else, winter planting happens under an exemption or not at all.
Bores are not a loophole
This is the most common misunderstanding on a Perth block, and it costs people money every winter.
A garden bore in Perth or Mandurah is on the same roster, the same time windows and the same three-month switch-off as scheme water. Water Corporation inspectors who see a bore user watering during the switch-off pass the breach to the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation. Owning the pump changes your water bill; it does not change your obligations.
It also does not change the water. Perth bore water is frequently high in iron, which stains limestone, render and paving orange and progressively blocks drip emitters. The department’s fix is preventive: correct sprinkler selection and no overspray onto hard surfaces — a design decision now, not a stain you scrub later. And garden bore water is not safe to drink: not for people, not for a wading pool, not for washing produce you intend to eat raw.
Does your bore need a licence?
Most suburban bores do not, but check rather than assume. Under the department’s garden bore regulation page, you need a water licence in a proclaimed groundwater area if you irrigate 0.2 hectares (2,000 square metres) or more, use the bore commercially, or draw from an artesian aquifer — in Perth, the Leederville or Yarragadee, not the shallow superficial aquifer most garden bores tap. The threshold rarely bites on a standard suburban lot. It does bite on a rural-residential block, and whenever the irrigation earns money.
If you are drilling a new bore
Run the Perth Groundwater Map first. It gives depth to watertable, expected salinity, and the depth to the base of the superficial aquifer — the maximum depth you may drill for non-commercial use without a groundwater licence. If the water under you is saline, a bore is a way to kill a garden slowly rather than water it.
Then use an accredited driller. The department recommends drillers accredited by the Australian Drilling Industry Association, construction to the Minimum Construction Requirements for Water Bores in Australia, 4th Edition 2020, and a written bore log recording depth, soil composition, yield, and pump make and model. Keep that log.
This is not DIY work. Drilling means rotating machinery and an open hole, and an uncapped or poorly sealed bore is both a physical hazard and a contamination path straight into the aquifer. Wiring the pump is electrical work, which in WA is a licensed trade — see irrigation controllers and compliance. Ring your council before you book a driller: some require approval for a bore or its pump enclosure, and pump noise is a routine source of neighbour complaints.
The new-garden exemption
This is the rule that decides your build programme, so read it before you set a planting date. For a new lawn or garden — including roll-on lawn, runners, shredded lawn and seed — you can apply to Water Corporation for a watering exemption that lets you water outside the roster, including during the switch-off.
| Installed between | Exemption length | Recommended water |
|---|---|---|
| 1 October and 31 March | Up to 42 days from planting | 10 mm a day |
| 1 April and 30 September | Up to 35 days from planting | 7.5 mm a day |
Four things to get right:
- Apply on the day the lawn or garden goes in. The clock starts at planting, so applying late shortens your own exemption.
- You pay for the water. It counts towards your billing year usage.
- The conditions bind you, not your contractor. A breach is the property owner’s responsibility, not the turf supplier’s or the retic installer’s, and non-compliance risks a $500 fine — five times the ordinary roster fine.
- Normal roster resumes the day the exemption ends. Plan the handover so the turf is established enough to survive two days a week. See turf for Perth.
Commissioning and testing, legally
You may run each station for no more than two minutes, on your rostered days, before 9am or after 6pm — enough to check coverage station by station and nothing more. There is no exemption for bore owners testing their own system.
A Waterwise specialist is exempt from watering schedules, including during the switch-off, which is the only lawful way to commission or audit a whole system in a single winter visit. If your build finishes in June, book one.
What this changes downstream
Two watering days and a three-month ban is the hardest constraint in the course. It caps lawn area, pushes the plant palette toward things that survive without weekly water, sets station run times, and fixes your planting date. Carry your two days, your windows, your source and your exemption plan into hydrozoning and irrigation scheduling and uniformity.
The next lesson finishes Phase 4 with the two site conditions that can override your whole plant list and your build method: bushfire and dieback.
Do this on your own block
Field journal entry
Your water rules
Record your rostered watering days (from your house number), your legal watering windows, the winter ban dates, your water source (scheme, bore, or both), and any new-garden exemption you may be entitled to. This governs your entire irrigation design.
Saved to your workbook
Sign in to write this straight into your project workbook — or just keep it in a notebook.
Checklist
- Determine your rostered days from your house or lot number
- Confirm the legal watering windows and penalties
- If you have a bore, check its licensing and any local restrictions
- Check whether a new-garden exemption applies to your planting date
Watch
Be Groundwater Wise | Horticulturalist Sabrina Hahn addresses garden bore users in Perth + Mandurah
The regulator's own explanation, delivered by a well-known Perth horticulturalist, of how to keep a garden alive on two days a week when you own a bore. Useful because it addresses the specific mindset problem this lesson has to break — that a bore means the roster does not apply to you.
Be Groundwater Wise | Horticulturalist Sabrina Hahn on how to achieve a groundwater wise garden
The design-side companion: what a garden looks like when it is built to survive a two-day roster in a drying climate, rather than one that is merely rationed. Watch it before you finalise your plant palette, not after.
Where to go deeper
Every link below was fetched and checked before it shipped. Nothing here is a guess.
- Freegovernment15 minPerth / WA
Check garden bore water restrictions
Department of Water and Environmental Regulation
Why this oneThe single most useful page on this topic, and the only official one that publishes the full roster table rather than hiding it behind an address lookup. It maps the last digit of your house number to your two watering days, does it separately for each of the five restriction areas across WA, and confirms that garden bore users in Perth and Mandurah get exactly the same days and times as scheme users. It also names the instrument the rules are made under — the Water Agencies (Water Use) By-laws 2010 — and lists the full set of exemptions, including the rule for properties sharing one bore.
Link checked 2 Aug 2026
- Freetool2 minPerth / WA
Check your watering days
Water Corporation
Why this oneEnter your street number and postcode and it returns your two rostered days. Use it to confirm what you worked out from the table, because it also decides whether your address falls inside the Perth and Mandurah area at all. The FAQs underneath are the ones worth reading: inspectors work seven days a week, all complaints are investigated, $100 on-the-spot fines are issued, and a controller that malfunctioned is explicitly not a defence.
Change this for PerthThe lookup uses your street number, not your apartment or villa number. If your property is still on a lot number, ring Water Corporation rather than guessing.
Link checked 2 Aug 2026
- Freegovernment10 minPerth / WA
Winter Sprinkler Switch-off
Water Corporation
Why this oneThe authority for the three-month total ban and, more importantly, for who it catches. It is mandatory for households and businesses, it applies to scheme and bore water users in Perth, Mandurah and parts of the South West and Great Southern, and it binds licensed groundwater users including local governments, schools and golf courses. It also states the one genuine carve-out most people miss: the switch-off does not apply to irrigation systems running off rainwater tanks.
Link checked 2 Aug 2026
- Freegovernment20 minPerth / WA
Apply for a watering exemption
Water Corporation
Why this oneThe page that decides when you are allowed to plant. It sets the two exemption periods — up to 42 days from the day of planting between 1 October and 31 March, up to 35 days between 1 April and 30 September — with recommended application of 10 mm and 7.5 mm a day respectively. It covers roll-on lawn, runners, shredded lawn and seed as well as garden planting, works for bore properties, and warns that you must apply on the day the lawn or garden goes in to get the full period.
Change this for PerthThe exemption is a permission to water outside the roster, not free water. Water Corporation states you are charged for the extra water and it counts towards your billing year usage, and non-compliance with the exemption conditions risks a $500 fine.
Link checked 2 Aug 2026
- Freegovernment10 minPerth / WA
Garden bore regulation
Be Groundwater Wise, Department of Water and Environmental Regulation
Why this oneThe regulator's plain-English statement of when a garden bore needs a water licence: irrigating 0.2 hectares (2,000 square metres) or more, any commercial use, or taking water from an artesian aquifer such as Perth's Leederville or Yarragadee. Below that threshold a domestic garden bore is exempt from licensing but not from the roster. It also confirms the $100 maximum fine and the two-day, before-9am-or-after-6pm rule for bore users in Perth and Mandurah.
Link checked 2 Aug 2026
- Freetool5 min for your addressPerth / WA
Perth Groundwater Map
Department of Water and Environmental Regulation
Why this oneType in your address and it estimates the depth to the watertable under your block, the depth to the base of the superficial aquifer — which is the maximum bore depth allowed for non-commercial use without a groundwater licence — and an indication of groundwater salinity at the site. This is how you find out whether a bore is worth pricing before a driller quotes you, and whether the water will be usable rather than merely present.
Change this for PerthIt is a modelled estimate across the Perth metropolitan area, not a measurement of your block. Treat it as a go / no-go screen and have the driller confirm on site.
Link checked 2 Aug 2026
- Freearticle10 minPerth / WA
The right advice for garden bores
Be Groundwater Wise, Department of Water and Environmental Regulation
Why this oneWhat to demand from a driller, from the department that regulates them. It says bores should be constructed by an accredited driller licensed by the Australian Drilling Industry Association, built to the Minimum Construction Requirements for Water Bores in Australia 4th Edition 2020, and that you should receive a bore log recording depth, soil composition, yield and pump make and model. It also states plainly that garden bore water is not safe to drink, and that iron staining is prevented by sprinkler selection and avoiding overspray rather than by treatment after the fact.
Link checked 2 Aug 2026
- Freegovernment10 minPerth / WA
Testing your irrigation
Water Corporation
Why this oneThe legal method for commissioning or fault-finding a retic system without collecting a fine. You may run each station for no longer than two minutes, on your rostered days, before 9am or after 6pm. Waterwise specialists are exempt from watering schedules including during the Sprinkler Switch-off, which is the only lawful way to commission a whole system in one visit in winter — and the page states there is no equivalent exemption for bore owners testing their own systems.
Link checked 2 Aug 2026
The rules, with sources
WA regulation changes. Each point below names its primary source and the date it was last checked — always confirm with your own council before you build.
In the Perth and Mandurah area, scheme water and garden bore users may use sprinklers on two rostered days a week, determined by the last digit of the house number, once a day, either before 9am or after 6pm. The restrictions are made under the Water Agencies (Water Use) By-laws 2010, made under the Water Agencies (Powers) Act 1984.
Department of Water and Environmental Regulation ↗ · checked 2 Aug 2026
Anyone found using sprinklers between 9am and 6pm, during the Sprinkler Switch-off, or outside their rostered days can be fined $100. Water Corporation inspectors work seven days a week, all complaints are investigated, and a sprinkler controller that malfunctioned is not a defence.
Department of Water and Environmental Regulation / Water Corporation ↗ · checked 2 Aug 2026
The Winter Sprinkler Switch-off runs from 1 June until 31 August every year and applies to scheme and bore water users in Perth, Mandurah and parts of the South West and Great Southern regions. It is mandatory for households and businesses, including licensed groundwater users such as local governments, schools and golf courses. It does not apply to irrigation systems supplied by rainwater tanks.
Water Corporation ↗ · checked 2 Aug 2026
A water licence from the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation is required in a proclaimed groundwater area if a bore irrigates areas of garden and lawn of 0.2 hectares (2,000 square metres) or more, is used for commercial purposes, or takes water from an artesian aquifer such as the Leederville or Yarragadee. A domestic garden bore below that threshold is exempt from licensing but not from the watering roster.
Be Groundwater Wise, Department of Water and Environmental Regulation ↗ · checked 2 Aug 2026
A watering exemption for a new lawn or garden allows up to 42 days from the day of planting between 1 October and 31 March, and up to 35 days from the day of planting between 1 April and 30 September. You must apply on the day the lawn or garden is installed to receive the full period. Failing to comply with the exemption conditions risks a $500 fine, and the breach is the responsibility of the property owner, not the person who installed the lawn, plants or irrigation system.
Water Corporation ↗ · checked 2 Aug 2026
You may test your own irrigation system only on your rostered watering days, before 9am or after 6pm, for no longer than two minutes per station. Waterwise specialists are exempt from watering schedules including during the Sprinkler Switch-off; there are no exemptions for bore owners testing their own systems.
Water Corporation ↗ · checked 2 Aug 2026
The maximum bore depth permitted for non-commercial use without an approved groundwater licence is the base of the superficial aquifer, which the Perth Groundwater Map estimates for any Perth metropolitan address along with depth to watertable and likely salinity.
Department of Water and Environmental Regulation ↗ · checked 2 Aug 2026