You can wash your car at home and pressure wash again in Mooresville. Lawn watering stays at two nights a week under Stage 2, and pools still cannot be filled.

Mooresville water customers can wash their cars at home and pressure wash again. The town eased part of its drought rules Monday, Oct. 19, effective immediately. Bulk sales of drinking water have also restarted.

Everything else stays in place. Lawn sprinklers are still limited to two nights a week, and swimming pools still cannot be filled or drained. The town remains in Stage 2.

The changes are in the town’s release of Oct. 19 and on its drought conditions page.

Why the rules are loosening

The town said the end of peak watering season, residents’ conservation and “additional rainfall” have improved the three measures that set drought stages:

  • reservoir storage
  • streamflow
  • drought conditions

Those are the indicators in the Low Inflow Protocol, the drought plan for the Catawba-Wateree River Basin. Mooresville and its neighbors draw water from that system and follow the stages set by its Drought Management Advisory Group.

“If conditions continue the same trajectory, the Town is hopeful that it will formally move into a lesser drought stage in the coming months,” the release said. It gave no date.

What you can do now

Under the eased rules, customers on the town’s water system may:

  • wash vehicles at home
  • pressure wash again
  • buy bulk drinking water from the town
  • hand water, use drip irrigation and use watering cans, as before
  • water newly installed landscaping while it gets established
  • irrigate from a private pond

What is still restricted

Sprinklers and irrigation systems run only two nights a week:

Window Starts Ends
Tuesday night 6 p.m. Tuesday 6 a.m. Wednesday
Saturday night 6 p.m. Saturday 6 a.m. Sunday

That covers in-ground systems, hose-end sprinklers and automatic systems.

Also still banned:

  • running decorative fountains or water features that do not support fish or other aquatic life
  • filling, draining or refilling swimming pools; small top-offs are allowed only for maintenance and to protect the liner

The rules do not apply to private wells, private ponds or other water sources, or to water used for public health, safety, firefighting or critical infrastructure. Residents who use private water can ask the town for a free sign, to avoid confusion or accidental enforcement, its drought page says.

Fines

Violations can bring fines and the loss of water service, the drought page says:

  • Homes: $100 a violation
  • Businesses: $200 for the first, $500 for the second and $1,000 for each one after that

How Mooresville got here

The restrictions have built up since spring, according to the town’s own releases:

  • April 17: the town asked for voluntary conservation after the basin entered Stage 1, citing below-average rainfall since September 2025.
  • May 8: mandatory Stage 2 rules began, limiting sprinklers to morning and evening hours.
  • May 19: enhanced Stage 2 banned car washing and washing of driveways and patios at home, and set the two-night schedule from June 1.
  • Oct. 19: car washing, pressure washing and bulk water sales allowed again.

What it means for you

If your water bill comes from the Town of Mooresville, you can wash the car in the driveway this weekend. Keep sprinklers to Tuesday and Saturday nights, and leave the pool until the town lifts Stage 2.

If you are not sure who supplies your water, check your bill. Customers of another provider should follow that provider’s rules, the town said. Our guide to moving to Mooresville explains how to start town water service.

Questions go to the town’s drought line at 704-663-7282. We will report when the town moves to a lower stage.