Lawn sprinkler season is starting across the Twin Cities, but how much is too much watering?

It’s almost that time of year when homeowners near White Bear Lake turn on their spigots, water their lawns and wonder what it all means for lake levels.

The lake famously seemed to be draining itself some 13 years ago, sparking a lawsuit that looked for someone to blame. Water levels have risen a bit since then, but the legal fight rages on even as cities have moved ahead with their own water conservation measures because no one seems to think the future will be wetter.

“We sort of think there’s going to be more water-use conflicts like White Bear Lake in the future,” said Michelle Stockness, executive director of the Freshwater Society, a nonprofit that advocates for water preservation.

Across the metro, cities are hiring sustainability officers to guide them with water conservation, building stormwater ponds to capture and reuse rain water, offering smart water meters to their residents, charging more money for big water users and banning lawn watering on some days.

By some measures, the state is doing well, taking first place in the Midwest for water conservation in a 2022 study by the Alliance for Water Efficiency, a Chicago-based nonprofit.

The group’s scorecard rated states for a host of water conservation measures like controlling water leaks. Minnesota scored 10th nationwide, and could place higher if it adopted laws and codes calling for high efficiency fixtures, required water utilities to implement climate change plans, and required coordination between water use and land planning, the group said.

So what’s the goal?

The state Department of Natural Resources wants cities to reduce their peak summertime use to 2.6 times their wintertime use, the big difference between the two seasons coming down to that plot of grass in the front yard.

“So many folks are overwatering their lawns,” said Claudia Hochstein, the DNR’s water supply plans and conservation consultant.

A lawn typically only needs a half-inch to an inch of water per week, and that includes rainfall. It’s best to water the lawn between 4 a.m. and 8 a.m., so the water isn’t evaporating in the hot midday sun before it can settle into the lawn’s root system.

In White Bear Lake, the city has made water conservation a game, challenging residents to pledge to conserve water and win a national contest.

“Something as simple as pledging to turn off a faucet while you brush your teeth can save up to four gallons of water a day,” said Mayor Dan Louismet, in a statement announcing the competition.

The city of Vadnais Heights just implemented new lawn watering restrictions, dropping it to two days per week, said Mayor Mike Krachmer.

The city also hired a natural resource specialist in late 2023 because of the White Bear Lake lawsuit, and hired a full-time code inspector to help enforce its lawn watering restrictions. It also increased water usage rates, especially for large water users.

“I think we’re doing quite a bit,” Krachmer said.

The DNR has proposed that cities within a 5-mile radius of White Bear Lake reduce their water usage to 75 gallons per person per day, or 90 gallons per person when commercial users are factored in. Krachmer said he thinks the city can hit that target.

“From an environmental point of view, we should meet those numbers regardless of the lawsuit just because it’s the right thing to do,” he said.

Erin Spry, the new natural resource specialist in Vadnais Heights, said when it comes to water conservation, the city has focused on irrigation, since it accounts for 40% of the city’s water use.

The city sells smart monitors that shutdown irrigation systems when it’s raining. For larger water users like a homeowner’s association, the city has rebates available to help pay for the cost of an irrigation audit or for sprinkler head replacements.

Spry also encourages residents to transition from turf grass to less thirsty native landscaping. Start small by converting an area where the lawn looks bad, she said. The local Soil and Water Conservation District or Watershed Management District can help with tips and even grants to cover some of the cost.

It’s a bit easier for cities with less commercial water users within their borders to hit the DNR’s proposed limit, said Bob Goebel, the public works director of Mahtomedi. He said his city has used less than that amount for most of the past nine years.

And in cities like Hugo, where new construction means lots of new turf to water, the city has pushed for water conservation by collecting rainwater and then pumping it out for irrigation.

The vast majority of the city’s irrigation comes from stormwater, said City Administrator Bryan Bear. It saves about 80 million to 100 million gallons of groundwater every year. That’s how the city used less water in 2024 than in 2012, even though it’s grown by 30% in that time.

Bear said he isn’t a fan of the DNR’s proposed rule in general, but not because he’s opposed to water conservation.

The problem, he said, is that the formula favors apartment buildings over single-family homes because it looks at water use per person, and apartment buildings have smaller lawns for more people. That means the rule becomes a land-use question rather than a water conservation measure.

That said, Bear said the city is proud of its use of rainwater for irrigation.

“It’s expected of new developments,” he said.