What changed

The U.S. Drought Monitor’s Texas map, released Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, showed broader drought coverage with data valid Sept. 15 at 8 a.m. EDT. The monitor listed 81.01% of Texas in D1-D4 drought, up from 73.95% one week earlier. D2-D4 coverage rose to 42.64% from 35.91%, D3-D4 rose to 17.97% from 13.69%, and D4 rose to 3.64% from 3.42%.

The increase was larger compared with three months earlier. The monitor listed D1-D4 drought at 40.14% on June 16, D2-D4 at 16.65%, D3-D4 at 3.68%, and D4 at 0.08%.

The Drought Monitor estimated 17,571,122 people in Texas drought areas for the Sept. 15 map. The authoritative Texas map is at https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/currentmap/statedroughtmonitor.aspx?TX.

What it means for the shop

For Texas landscaping companies, the verified consequence is planning uncertainty around drought conditions, not a confirmed statewide operating rule. The Drought Monitor states that it focuses on broad-scale conditions and that local conditions may vary.

The Texas impact table on the Drought Monitor page is labeled “Historic Impacts.” It lists examples of impacts Texas has experienced in the past, including voluntary water restrictions at D1 and mandatory water restrictions and burn bans at D2. That table does not verify that a specific city, county, or utility currently has those restrictions in place.

Before scheduling irrigation-heavy work, new planting, turf recovery, or maintenance that could be affected by outdoor watering limits, owners should check the customer’s city, water utility, and county records directly. The supplied Drought Monitor pages do not provide allowed watering days, hand-watering exceptions, new-planting exemptions, commercial-account rules, penalties, or burn-ban details.

What remains unknown

The supplied pages do not identify which Texas cities, counties, utilities, or metro areas have current mandatory or voluntary outdoor watering restrictions. They also do not verify recent changes to irrigation schedules, enforcement policies, variance rules, or fines.

The supplied pages do not specify which Texas counties or regions moved into worse drought categories; they provide statewide percentage statistics only. They also do not verify current county burn bans or wildfire-related work restrictions for crews using mowers, trimmers, chainsaws, welding equipment, or trailers.

The Drought Monitor provides data tools for tables, downloads, GIS data, and state impact information at https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Data.aspx. Those tools can help document drought conditions, but local authorities remain the source for enforceable water-use and burn-ban rules.

Evidence

Sources

  1. Primary authority
    droughtmonitor.unl.edu: Texas | U.S. Drought Monitor
  2. Primary authority
    droughtmonitor.unl.edu: Data | U.S. Drought Monitor
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