I have always only watered once a week, so stage 1 and 2 haven't been too much of a shift other than that I have to stop watering during the day with my soakers. I have a timer now that lets me use soakers during my allotted time on my allotted day of the week.

Once we hit stage 3 though, I'll only be able to water every other week.

So, I'm in preemptive damage control right now. What can I do to mitigate loss?

I've read that raising the mowing height helps. Is this a good start? Maybe reduce mowings to cut down on stress?

Even with only watering once every two weeks, the Bermuda will still have a bit of green tint and be just fine. Look at the bright side you will not be out mowing twice a week in the heat. Just water when you can, and keep traffic off it as much as possible.

You will notice our neighbors with St Augustine letting their lawns die. I have St Aug and am doing fine on the one day per week watering. I think most let it die because they have forced us to water in the dead of night (3am - 6am).

One thing I do not think people quite fully understand to have that Better Home & Gardens lawns requires a lot of water, and if rains do not supply that water it must be purchased. Water is the most expensive part of a lawn maintenance. as it cost a few thousand to install an irrigation system and monthly water bills which can be in excess of $100/month depending on the size of the lawn and location. So when times get tough, the lawn is the first thing to go because you do not need it.

No water for trees, they die. A lot more sun. Energy bill goes up big time.

Over time, I will gradually reduce the size of lawn and expand existing tree rings into large gardens filled with drought hardy plants.

But right now, i'm giving young trees more watering to speed up growth to achieve more shade rather sooner than later.

"Dave IMHO a nice lawn is a luxury and/or a hobby where disposable income is used."

TW: A nice lawn is an investment into the value of a home and property. If you don't believe me, just ask any real estate professional.

I know but you cannot eat your lawn when you are out of work and hungry. Just ask anyone who is out of work and struggling to feed their families.

Nowhere in this thread has anyone, except for you, talked about being out of work or unable to feed their family. The topic of this thread is water restrictions and its effect on home lawns. Once again, you've missed the point.

In a tight market such as this, curb appeal can be, and sometimes is, the difference in whether or not a home is purchased. Discriminating buyers want a full package value for their investment, and an attractive landscape certainly is part of that consideration.

As a real estate client for over 30 years, I know what I'm looking for in a property value, and a poorly kept lawn can be, and has been, cause for me to not favor a particular property. When you put time, effort, and money into your landscape and lawn, and your propert sells partially because of the attractive landscape, and the buyer points that out as a reason why they purchased the home, then you can well better believe that you are getting back what you have put into it. That scenario may not exist in your world, but it certainly does exist in mine. The care and appearance on the outside is usually a reflection of what is on the inside. That has been my experience.

When you deal with high-profile, private gated communities like I have over the past 24 years, you understand what is desired and expected by high value discriminating buyers. You and I may be interacting with different levels of clientele.

And quite frankly, my standard and attention-to-detail is usually beyond the comprehension of others.

So, can we please get back on the topic of the drought conditions of the OP and how to help them keep from having a dead lawn. Texas-weed was giving some positive advice to the OP before I started rambling, when in fact I should have kept my mouth shut. There really is a good reason why we have 2 ears and only 1 mouth. We should be listening twice as much as we speak. I need to keep learning that lesson.

OK the advice is water if you have disposable income. Otherwise use the money for higher priorities.

The way our water pricing works, I don't think cost is an issue. The drought and the ordinance written to stop wasting water is the issue.

Sprinkler systems are not generally needed here. The normal lawn is on the order of 50 feet by 30 feet. One or two moves on an oscillator sprinkler will cover them easily. And I find the 7 hour limit to be generous. Larger lawns come with upper income homes where no luxury seems to be too luxurious.

Yes, and those are the attitudes of the clients I deal with on a daily basis. When you deal with those types of attitudes on a daily basis like I do, you sometimes forget about the struggles of those who are less fortunate. I seem to have fallen into that category. I need to remind myself what it was like not that long ago.

Does having a consistent fertilization regimen increase the need for water? Or is it the other way around?

I'm not trying to make this a discussion about surfactants, but more trying to compile a bit of information people can reference for their own drought endangered lawn.

So, one thing I have noticed when watering by hand is that at first a lot of the water runs off. This is especially bad for me, because my lawn is sloped. Additionally run-off is a cardinal sin in San Antonio as it is considered water waste and you can be fined for it.

So this is something else I'm going to try. I just want to encourage deep root growth, and if I can get water deeper down with less water, then I'm game.

When it gets hot and dry with water restrictions you need to back off or even suspend fertilizing until wetter cooler conditions return like late summer or early fall. Forcing the grass to grow when it does not want to is not a good thing.

Now if water is not an issue and you do not mind mowing in the heat, go ahead and fertilize if you have Bermuda. But IMHO it would be better to reduce fertilizing amounts in half, raise the cutting height and both you and the grass take it easy during the hottest months.