Filling a New Pool During a Water Shortage: What the District's Rules Actually Say

If you are building a pool in Tampa Bay right now, someone has probably already told you that you won’t be allowed to fill it.

We went and read the rules. That is not what they say.

What is actually in force

The Southwest Florida Water Management District has a Modified Phase III “Extreme” Water Shortage in effect, extended through October 1, 2026. It covers a large area, including all of Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Manatee counties — every county we build in — along with Citrus, DeSoto, Hardee, Hernando, Polk, Sarasota and Sumter, and parts of several others.

It is a serious order. Lawn irrigation drops to one day per week, assigned by the last digit of your address: 0 or 1 on Monday, 2 or 3 Tuesday, 4 or 5 Wednesday, 6 or 7 Thursday, 8 or 9 Friday. Watering hours for properties under an acre are squeezed to 12:01 a.m.–4 a.m. or 8 p.m.–11:59 p.m. Pinellas County backs its schedule with $193 citations that double on repeat.

So the restrictions are real, and they are enforced. They are also, overwhelmingly, about irrigation.

What the order says about filling a pool

Here is the part nobody reports. We read the Phase III rule itself — 40D-21.641, Florida Administrative Code — end to end.

There is no provision restricting the filling or refilling of a swimming pool. There is no permit for it, no allowable-day schedule for it, and no separate treatment of a brand-new fill versus topping off a pool that has been in the ground for ten years. The rule restricts lawn and landscape use, golf courses and athletic fields, agricultural use, vehicle washing, pressure washing, water body augmentation and ornamental fountains. A pool fill is not on the list.

For recreation, the Phase III rule does something slightly unusual: it points at the Phase II rule. Subsection 40D-21.641(7)(c) says simply that recreation use shall comply with subsection 40D-21.631(7), F.A.C. Follow that reference and you arrive at the only sentence in the entire water shortage framework that speaks directly to pool owners:

All pools shall be maintained in a manner that minimizes the need for make-up water. This shall include the prompt repair of leaks, optimum scheduling of backwash filtration and the use of shade or covers to reduce evaporation.

That is the obligation. Note what kind of obligation it is. It is not a one-time gate you pass on fill day — it is a continuing duty of care over the life of the pool, and it is aimed squarely at waste: leaks you haven’t fixed, backwash you run more often than you need to, evaporation you could have covered.

The fountain exemption worth knowing about

There is one more pool mention, and it is a useful one. Aesthetic water use — fountains, waterfalls, “other artistic water features” — is limited under Phase III to four hours a day, with the owner required to select and post the normal hours of operation.

But the rules carve out a feature that “is an integral part of the circulation system for a swimming pool.”

That distinction matters if your design includes a spillover spa, a sheer descent, a bubbler on a sun shelf or deck jets. Those are typically plumbed into the pool’s own circulation rather than being standalone decorative water features, and the rules treat the two differently. A freestanding ornamental fountain in the front garden is capped. A spillover that is part of how the pool circulates is a different thing.

So what actually decides your fill?

Your local utility — on two counts.

First, they may be stricter than the District. The District says so itself: local city or county regulations may exceed District standards. That is the one genuine reason to make a phone call before fill day, and it is a short call.

Second, and much more commonly, it is a billing question rather than a permission question. A pool holds a lot of water, and the awkward part is usually not the water charge — it is the sewer charge, because wastewater is generally billed off your metered water use, and a pool fill inflates that meter reading enormously despite not a drop of it reaching the sewer.

Both major utilities in our area publish relief for exactly this:

• Pinellas County Utilities: “All customers will be allowed a one-time exclusion to the conservation fee, up to $25 if applicable, for filling swimming pools.” You have to submit proof, with your service address and account number.
• City of Tampa: “Because wastewater charges are calculated based upon your metered water use, you may be eligible for an partial allowance for the wastewater charges associated with a pool filling.” Their Utilities Call Center is (813) 274-8811.

Neither is automatic. Both require you to ask. Ask before the fill if you can, so you know what proof they want.

The honest summary

The water shortage is real, the irrigation restrictions are real, and conserving water in a drought is the right instinct. But the specific fear — that a declared water shortage will stop you filling a new pool — is not supported by the order that declares it.

What the rules ask of a pool owner is narrower and more permanent than a one-day restriction: keep the pool from wasting water. Fix leaks promptly. Don’t over-backwash. Use a cover.

That is worth doing in a drought and worth doing in a wet year, which is probably why it is the one pool sentence the District chose to write down.

Rules change, and water shortage orders are extended, modified and lifted on the District’s own schedule. This article reflects the orders and rules as published on 17 August 2026. Check the District’s current restrictions page before relying on it.